This raspberry tart is easy to make and guaranteed to impress. It's a French-inspired treat with a pastry cream filling and fresh raspberries on top. Perfect for beginner or expert bakers. I share all the expert tips for success.
I made this tart many times developing it, because I wanted the crust, and the pastry cream to be just right. My family did not complain once! They inhaled it with every version.
This is going at the top of my list of favorite desserts to share. Plus, fresh berries are always accessible so I can make it all year long.
You'll want to try other fruit tarts to share like Easy Peach Tarts, and a baked galette-style Rustic Apple Tart.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Developed and tested by an expert: My professional background is developing recipes that you can be successful with at home!
- Delicate and buttery crust: The pâte sablée crust is tender and buttery, with the addition of egg to make it rich.
- Make-ahead friendly: The crust and the pastry cream can be made in advance so assembly is easy, and waiting time is spread over a day or two.
- Customizable: You can swap out the raspberry preserves and fresh raspberries for other jams and fruit, or leave out the jam altogether.
Ingredients
See what simple baking ingredients you'll need for this French-inspired tart. You probably have all of them in the pantry and fridge. Just get fresh berries to add to the top.
Measurements and full instructions are in the recipe card below.
For the Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)
- Whole milk: You can use 2% milk if needed. avoid skim milk as the consistency and richness of the cream will not come through.
- Vanilla: Use a split and scraped vanilla bean, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract to enhance the flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Regular sugar is great, and you can use superfine sugar if you'd like.
- Cornstarch: This helps thicken the cream and give it a smoother, silkier texture.
- Salt: Don't skip this ingredient as it brings out the buttery, milky flavor of all the other additions.
- Egg yolks: I always use standard large eggs in my recipes.
- Unsalted butter: Add this at the beginning and at the end of cooking to create the perfect silky texture.
For the Pâte Sablée Crust
- Unsalted butter: Using unsalted butter allows you to control the flavor and salt content.
- Confectioners' sugar: This powdered sugar gives the crust a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and creates a smooth dough.
- Egg yolk: I always use standard large eggs in my recipes. The fat from the egg yolk contributes to the tenderness of the crust.
- Cream or milk: This hydrates the dough making it the perfect texture for rolling and baking.
- Salt: Just a little to enhance the buttery flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Don't swap this for another kind of flour.
Layers
- Raspberry jam: Fruit preserves or jam just gives a concentrated op of flavor the the creamy tart.
- Fresh raspberries: These are both for taste and garnish. The entire top covered in raspberries looks stunning.
How to make a raspberry tart
Make pastry cream (Crème Pâtissière)
You can flavor this classic pastry cream with vanilla paste, a split vanilla bean, or plain vanilla extract. It's rich and creamy, and sturdy enough to hold the raspberries in this tart.
Make it up to two days in advance. It needs time to chill.
- Step 1: Combine egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan.
- Step 2: Whisk mixture until a smooth, thick paste forms.
- Step 3: Whisk in the milk, vanilla, and some of the butter, then turn on the heat.
- Step 4: Cook, stirring, until mixture is very thick and smooth.
- Step 5: Off the heat add the remaining butter and stir until it is completely melted.
- Step 6: Place the pastry cream over an ice bath and cover the top with plastic wrap to cool before placing in the fridge.
Make the Pâte Sablée crust
You can make this up to two days in advance if you'd like to plan ahead.
- Step 1: Beat the butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth then add the egg yolk and milk.
- Step 2: Add the flour and salt and mix just until a dough comes together.
- Step 3: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Step 4: On a floured surface, roll the dough to fit into a tart pan with removable bottom.
- Step 5: Carefully place the rolled dough in the pan and work it up the sides, then square off the top by rolling the rolling pin over the top of the pan. Patch any cracks or holes with dough scraps.
- Step 6: Once the crust chills, dock all over with a fork, line with parchment and fill with baking weights. Bake as directed, cool, and store wrapped or use immediately.
Assemble the raspberry tart
Once the crust is cool, carefully remove it from the tart pan and place it on your serving platter. Then gently fill it with jam, pastry cream, and fresh raspberries!
- Step 1: Spread the jam on the bottom of the baked tart shell.
- Step 2: Gently spread the pastry cream on top of the jam and chill to set.
- Step 3: Top with fresh raspberries.
- Step 4: Serve immediately.
Expert Tips
I have helpful tips for making this tart come together easily.
- Heat oven ahead: Always make sure to heat your oven for at least 30 minutes before baking so it has time to come to the proper temperature. I always use an oven thermometer to check for accuracy. Adjust your oven temperature settings to get the right thermometer reading.
- Tart pan: Get a tart pan with a removable bottom for best results. This allows you to serve the tart outside of a pan once it's done. Lining the bottom of the pan with parchment is just an extra step that helps remove the crust from the pan really easily.
- Chill time: The crust needs to chill before baking, and the pastry cream needs to chill twice in this recipe. Plan ahead when making this simple raspberry custard tart so that each element has the time to properly chill for the best results.
- Preparation order: The recipe is split into three sections for the different layers. Make them in the order suggested in the recipe (pastry cream, crust, layering) for the best results. The order helps you plan for chilling, baking, and cooling time.
- Pressing the crust into the pan: I like to roll my crust out, then transfer to the pan and gently press the edges to fit in the pan. This ensures an even layer of crust. The Pâte Sablée is very delicate, so don't worry if it breaks or cracks, just fill in cracks or holes with scraps and chill well before baking.
Tara's Tip
Due to the of the chilling times in this recipe, I strongly encourage you to make both the pastry crust and pastry cream a day in advance. The approach will be less stressful than trying to make the entire tart in one day, allowing you to enjoy your time in the kitchen much more!
Variations
This raspberry tart recipe is very classic and simple. You can try these variations if you'd like.
- Jam: You can leave the jam layer out completely, or use a different flavor of jam or fruit preserves. You just want a thin layer right on the bottom of the crust.
- Different fruit: Try different fresh fruit toppings. Other berries, halved grapes, a fruit medley, or a layer of lemon curd are all nice options. Change or omit the jam as desired.
Storage
You can cover the finished tart with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to two days. However, it’s best to serve the tart right after adding the raspberries on top.
The separate elements of the tart (baked crust and pastry cream) can be kept separately for up to 2 days. Keep the pastry cream chilled in the fridge and the tart shell wrapped, at room temperature.
Tart Crusts
For this raspberry tart I use a pâte sablée crust. The name means "sandy" and it is crisp but tender, and more cookie-like than other tart crusts because it is made with confectioners' sugar.
You can easily use a classic tart crust, similar to a pâte sucrée for this tart. Or, use my perfect pie crust to fill the tart pan.
All of these crusts will need to be chilled, then blind-baked before filling.
FAQs
Generally, a raspberry tart is a type of dessert that is typically made up of a buttery, flaky pastry crust filled with raspberry-flavored elements such as raspberry jam or preserves, fresh raspberries, or sometimes a custard. The tart can vary from a simple rustic version to more refined French-style tarts, like this one, which combines a pâte sablée (a tender, buttery shortcrust), pastry cream, and fresh raspberries.
Tarts are typically baked in a shallow-straight sided pan, or as a thin fruit galette or crostata on a baking sheet. Tarts are most often open-faced without a top, and can even be mini, or a crust and topping without edges like these peach tarts.
Similarly, pies are baked in a sloped sided dish or pan and can have a single bottom crust or both a top and bottom crust.
Both names are used for pastries like Pop Tarts or hand pies, where small pockets of crust are filled and baked.
Tart fillings can be made from different things depending on the type of tart. Many tarts are filled with fruit, or a sweet almond cream called frangipane, or even chocolate ganache. Other tarts are filled with creamy custards like pastry cream or lemon curd.
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📖 Full Recipe
French Raspberry Tart
Ingredients
Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)
- 1¾ cups whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (DIVIDED)
Pâte Sablée (Pastry Crust)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups (160g) all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling out)
Layers
- ⅓ cup raspberry preserves, or jam
- 2½ containers (6-ounce containers) raspberries (about 82 raspberries)
Instructions
Crème Pâtissière (Pastry Cream)
- For the crème pâtissière: Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and a little water. Set aside with a smaller bowl to fit into the ice bath later.
- In a medium saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until very smooth (mixture will be thick). Whisk in the milk, vanilla, and add 2 tablespoons of the butter.
- Place pan over medium-high heat and stirring constantly with a whisk, warming the mixture until the butter melts.
- Once butter has melted, reduce heat to medium and continue stirring and cooking until mixture thickens and, when you stop stirring, boiling bubbles will slowly rise to the surface. Continue to cook and stir about 1 minute from this point, then immediately remove from the heat.
- Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Transfer cream to a bowl set over the ice bath and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Let the cream cool in the ice bath about 30 minutes, then transfer the bowl out of the ice bath to the fridge. The cream should chill for 3 hours or overnight until ready to use.
Pâte Sablée (Pastry Crust)
- For the pâte sablée: Beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until mixed and smooth.
- Mix in the egg yolk and milk until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, and don’t overmix. The dough should be able to be pressed together between your fingertips and hold shape.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk shape. Chill for at least 1 hour or up to two days.
- When ready to roll, remove the dough from fridge and let soften on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes until it is still cold but pliable. Line a 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom with a traced and cut out circle of parchment that just sits on the removable bottom.
- On a lightly floured surface, or between two sheets of parchment paper, roll the dough to an 11-inch circle.
- Transfer the dough to the tart pan. Peel away the top layer of parchment paper if using, and invert the crust into the tart pan. Peel away the other paper, and fit the crust into the pan. Gently lift the edges and then press the dough down into the shape of the pan. Trim the edges by simply running a rolling pin around the top edge of the pan. Save any scraps to repair cracks that you see.
- Refrigerate the crust while the oven heats to 375ºF.
- Remove the tart crust from the fridge and place the tart pan on a baking sheet (to prevent butter from melting through the removable bottom while baking). Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork about every ½-inch. Line the cold crust with a crumpled-then-flattened piece of parchment and fill the crust with rice, beans, or baking weights.
- Bake until crust is just set and the edges are starting to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
- While crust bakes, prepare a ring of foil to cover the outside edges of the crust. (Fold a square of foil in half, and cut a half circle on the fold a little smaller than the inside of the tart. Unfold for a round edge cover!)
- After 15 to 18 minutes, remove tart from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and rice/beans. (I like to cover the tart edges with the foil ring at this point) Return to the oven and bake until the bottom of the crust is light golden brown, an additional 7 to 8 minutes. Cool for at least 30 minutes before filling.
- To remove cooled crust from tart pan, carefully lift the removable bottom up through the ring then slide the crust onto a serving platter before filling.
Layers
- Spread the raspberry jam on the bottom of the cooled pastry crust. Then, stir chilled pastry cream until just smooth and gently spread on top of the jam, smoothing into an even layer. Cover the tart with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour, up to overnight, until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, arrange fresh raspberries over the top. Slice and serve.
- Leftover tart can be covered in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition Per Serving
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Denise says
OOPs missed that it does say sugar!!! I'm old!!