French raspberry tart is made with a short crust base that’s filled with sweet vanilla custard mixture and topped with juicy fresh raspberries!
Both the crust pastry and the creamy custard filling can be made ahead of time and stored separately in the fridge, ready to be blind-baked and assembled within minutes.
Enjoy this beautiful French raspberry tart as a dessert or sweet treat with your tea. If you’re looking for more scrumptious tart recipes, be sure to try my Pear Tart with French Almond Cream, Apple Crumble Tart, or Chocolate Ganache Tart!
Isn't easy? Don't get intimidated by French recipes. Remember how I demystify the French Crème Brûlée for you?
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🥧 Why you will love this Tart
- This sweet tart can be baked all year round since raspberries are available most of the year.
- French raspberry tart is an elegant dessert that’s simple to make with pantry-staple ingredients.
- A fruity summer-time dessert for special occasions or weekend social gatherings.
Delicious warm, at room temperature, or even cold.
👩🏻🍳 Ingredients You’ll Need
This elegant raspberry tart is straightforward, offering a sophisticated dessert without effort. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to get started:
- Raspberries - Washed and dried.
For the short crust
- Butter - Unsalted butter is best for flavor and to control the salt content. Allow it to soften slightly and cut it into cubes.
- Flour - All-purpose or plain flour is great for a crumbly pastry crust.
- Salt - Just a pinch. Omit if using salted butter.
- Egg - 1 medium-sized egg.
- Egg white - 1 egg white.
For the French vanilla pastry cream
- Milk - Use full-fat milk for the best flavor and creamy consistency.
- Vanilla bean - Scraped.
- Egg yolks - You’ll need 3 large egg yolks. Use free-range eggs for the best quality.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar is best.
- Cornstarch - Used as a thickening agent.
📋 Variations
Looking for ways to adapt this French raspberry tart recipe? I’ve got you covered:
- Crust: Use a store bought tart shell instead of making your pastry crust dough from scratch. Great if you are rushed for time!
- Size: Make mini French raspberry tarts using mini tart molds.
- Fruit: I’ve made this French tart recipe with fresh raspberries. You could make it with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or a combination.
- Sugar: Caster sugar can replace granulated sugar in the almond filling.
- Garnish: Consider sprinkling this French raspberry tart with confectioner’s sugar, icing sugar, coconut flakes, or toasted almonds.
- Flavor: Vanilla extract can be used instead of the scraped vanilla bean, although nothing beats the flavor of freshly scraped vanilla bean.
🥣 Instructions
- First, make the shortcrust. Mix the butter, flour, and salt together in a large mixing bowl until it crumbles between your fingers.
- Next, add the egg and gently work it into a smooth ball. Now it’s ready to be added to the fridge to set for about 20 minutes and then rolled onto a lightly floured surface.
- Then, roll the dough thinly and place it into the baking mold to blind-bake for 12-13 minutes at 350F. Poke the pastry lightly with a fork and add parchment paper and some baking beads or dry beans on top as a weight. Remove the beads and bake for another 4-5 minutes or until the crust is golden.
Tip: Although the pastry must be thin, it must still be thick enough so that it doesn’t break. The poked holes in the pastry allow steam to escape without breaking the pastry or creating raised pockets, and the baking beads help prevent the pastry from rising too much.
- Now, make the French vanilla pastry cream by bringing the milk, scraped vanilla bean, and the opened bean to a boil.
- Next, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl.
- Remove the milk from the stove and pour the milk through a strainer into the egg mixture while stirring. Add the cornstarch and stir to get rid of any lumps.
- Return the mixture to the stove on low heat and continue to heat until the cream thickens. Remove and allow it to cool.
- Lastly, assemble your French raspberry tart by spreading the pastry cream into the crust to the height of the borders. Place the raspberries gently on top, and you’re done!
💭 FAQs
Absolutely! The pastry for this French raspberry tart can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours or freezer for up to 3 months, ready to be rolled and baked.
The pastry cream can be made the day before and store in the fridge.
Leftover raspberry tart should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and served chilled or reheated slightly in the oven.
The pastry cream can be stored separately 24 hours in the fridge.
I don’t recommend freezing this raspberry tart recipe once assembled and baked, as the texture of the sweet tart could change.
Yes! Blind-baking the crust ensures the pastry crust is crunchy and baked through without becoming soggy from the custard filling. It is an extra step, but definitely worth the effort and time.
Enjoy a slice of this sweet tart with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It’s also just as delicious on its own, or with hot coffee and tea.
I highly recommend making my recipes using a scale but for your convenience, I have also converted the recipe using this website.
Pastry Cream adapted and inspired from the book French Cooking.
📖 French Raspberry Tart
Ingredients
For the short crust
- a little less than ½ cup butter softened (cut in cube packeor 100g
- 1 and ⅓ cup flour or 200g
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg medium size
- 1 egg white
For the French Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 2 cups milk 500ml
- 1 vanilla bean scrapped
- 3 egg yolks large
- ½ cup sugar 100g
- ½ cup cornstarch 60g
Fruits
- 2 pints raspberries washed & dried
Instructions
For the short crust
- Mix the butter, the flour and salt together until it is crumbly.
- Add the egg and mix gently.
- Form into a ball and set in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.
- Preheat the oven at 350F.
- Roll the dough thinly but thick enough so it does not break and place it in the baking mold. Poke with the fork lightly.
- Place a parchment paper and add some baking beads or dry beans (I have a jar for that purpose) on top for the weigh. Bake 12-13 minutes and remove the beads/beans and bake another 4-5 minutes or until the crust is golden.
For the French Vanilla Pastry Cream
- In a pot, pour the milk, the scrapped vanilla and the opened bean (to infuse) and bring to a boil.
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until it whitened.
- Remove milk from the stove and using a strainer (for the vanilla bean) pour the milk over the egg yolk/sugar mixture while stirring.
- Add the cornstarch and stir well so there are no lumps
- Put back on the stove on low heat and keep stirring until your cream starts thickening.
- Remove from the stove and allow to cool.
Assembling
- Spread the pastry cream into the shortbread crust to the height of the borders.
- Gently place the raspberries on top of the pastry cream.Voilà!
Notes
- Although the pastry must be thin, it must still be thick enough so that it doesn’t break. The poked holes in the pastry allow steam to escape without breaking the pastry or creating raised pockets, and the baking beads help prevent the pastry from rising too much.
- The pastry for this French raspberry tart can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours or freezer for up to 3 months, ready to be rolled and baked. The pastry cream can be made the day before and store in the fridge.
Colleen says
tHIS TART REALLY IS ELEGANT AND SOUNDS DELICIOUS, TOO. tHE RASPBERRIES COULD BE SWAPPED OUT FOR STRAWBERRIES, TOO, i'M THINKING. lOVELY DESSERT!
Mélanie says
Yes, any other berry would work and look pretty aligned. :)
Bernice Hill says
THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITE DESSERTS. EVER. i DON'T KNOW WHY i HAVEN'T TRIED MAKING IT YET, YOU MAKE IT SOUND SO EASY!!
Mélanie says
I don't why either Bernice :). I specially love the combo of raspberries and vanilla pastry cream! Yum!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says
This really is an elegant tart Melanie! Perfect for summertime entertaining, and love that I can sub in other seasonal fruit!
SaBrina says
This is a wonderful recipe and i espeCially love how you break it down into MANAGEABLE steps. So much easier (for me anyway) to make the crust a day ahead. Simply delightFul, thank you!
Sonja Zanders says
How long do I bake this it doesn’t say
Mélanie says
Oh sorry for that. Just updated the recipe card. Happy baking!