With a sweet pastry crust and smooth mascarpone cream filling, homemade is simply elegant. This eye-catching, colorful dessert is surprisingly easy to prepare. Plus, you can save time and make the crust and cream in advance! See my make-ahead instructions below.

 and have since made some changes to the pastry crust so it’s quicker and easier, and added new photos.

A fresh fruit tart is the kind of dessert that looks like you poured your heart and soul into it, when in reality you made the pastry crust yesterday, the cream filling takes about 5 minutes, and you spent most of the time snacking on all the fruit you were cutting.

Another wonderful thing about this beautiful dessert is that there’s minimal bake time, which makes it a favorite in the summertime! The crust only bakes for about 25 minutes, then you let it cool and fill it with the good stuff. You can make the crust ahead of time and then fill it the next day.

I have a lot of step-by-step pictures for you today. While this recipe is very manageable, I want you to have full confidence before beginning. Let’s dive into this brilliantly colored beauty!

“Made this for a Fourth of July party and it was a show-stopper! Everyone wow-ed over it and I had to admit, ‘It’s really simple—trust me!’ So yummy, so bright, and such a fun dessert. I will definitely be making this again. ★★★★★“

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Since first publishing this recipe on my website, I’ve made a few small updates to the crust to make it even better. It’s now quicker, easier, and you don’t need pie weights. It’s the same base I use for the lemon curd tart in my cookbook Sally’s Baking 101, and it’s essentially a French-style pâte sucrée (sweet tart crust).

Its shortbread-like texture strikes the perfect balance between crisp and tender and holds up even after chilling, making it an ideal companion for the blanket of vanilla cream and mountain of fresh fruit.

A food processor makes this dough come together easily. If you don’t have one, you can use a stand or hand mixer instead.

Pulse/beat Tablespoon-size pieces of softened butter into your dry ingredients:

Then pulse/beat in an egg to make a soft dough, like this:

Press the soft dough into a greased 9-inch tart pan with removable sides.

Prick the surface of the bottom crust all over with a fork. This is called docking, and we do it when we par-bake pie crust, too, to allow for steam to escape and help prevent the empty crust from bubbling up as it bakes. It may still bubble up a little—that’s normal.

Freeze the crust before baking so it holds shape in the oven. Otherwise, it will melt and slump in the tart pan. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day if making ahead.

To make for easy handling when you take it out of the oven, bake the tart crust set on top of a baking sheet. It is all too easy to forget your tart pan has removable sides, trust me on this!

That’s it, your crust is done. It needs to cool completely before you fill it.

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Many fruit tarts call for a detailed pastry cream filling; while undeniably delicious (and you should absolutely feel free to use that instead if you’d like!), we’re keeping it simple for today’s fresh fruit tart.

Whipped cream, most of the confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla.

Mascarpone gently mixed with the remaining sugar:

Fold the contents of both bowls together, and then spread into the cooled crust:

Here’s where you have full creative control. When selecting fruit for a fruit tart, I look for variation in color, texture, and size—as well as what flavors pair nicely together. Decorate the tart with concentric circles or rows of fruit, or simply pile it all on top.

No matter how artistic you decide to get, it will taste delicious!

For a glossy shine, brush the top of the fruit with an easy glaze. Choose a light-color jam/preserves such as orange, peach, or apricot, and whisk it with some water to thin it out. This is what will make your fruit tart look just like the ones you see in a fancy pastry display case; and because the tart itself isn’t overly sweet, it’s the perfect finishing element.

Here is my all-berry version, with extra whipped cream on top:

A bright and cheerful fresh fruit tart is a wonderful choice for summer holiday gatherings and celebrations. See more 4th of July desserts.

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