No Bake Summer Fruit and Custard Tart
If you know me at all you know I’ve been fully embracing fall for the past month. At least. I’ve had to stop myself from watching Hocus Pocus already and have had “This is Halloween” stuck in my head on repeat. BUT. I just spent the weekend sweating in New Orleans, which reminded me summer isn’t over everywhere yet. I have two more summer recipes to share with you, then it’s going to be all pumpkin everything from here until Christmas, because that’s just who I am.
I have a very bad habit at farmers markets of buying everything that looks good, which in turn means I have way too much produce because EVERYTHING looks good when it’s fresh at the market. Last month I came home with donut peaches, dinosaur egg pluots (so cute!!), cherries, blackberries, raspberries and more…the fruit all looked incredible! Then as per usual, I let it sit on my counter until it was on the verge of being over ripe.
I clearly needed a fruit recipe but it was still pushing 100 degrees and I’ve been boycotting the oven, so no-bake was the obvious choice. Not only is this tart surprisingly easy to make, it is quick and only uses a few dishes. All very important factors when you put off making a dessert to bring to your monthly book club until the day of your meet up. Hypothetically of course…
The base is a simple graham cracker crust made even more simple by the “rustic” shape of the tart (aka it doesn’t matter what shape it ends up). The custard is creamy and vanilly without being over powering, because the star of the show here is all the fruit. You could use whatever you have on hand which is what makes this tart so versatile! Apricots, plums, peaches, cherries, berries, kiwis…I think just about any fresh summer fruit would go perfectly here.
Book club gave this tart two thumb’s up (which is more than we can say about the book we read…) and the husband asked “can you make that again?!” when he saw these photos. Go grab the last of the fresh summer produce and make this tart before it’s too late!
~Stephanie
No Bake Summer Fruit Custard Tart (recipe from Half Baked Harvest)
For Crust
- 2 1/2 c (about 2 sleeves) crushed graham crackers
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c butter, melted
For Custard
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 c cornstarch
- 1/3 c honey
- 2 c whole milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 1/2 c assorted fruits and berries (slice and pit fruits as appropriate)
- fresh thyme and mint for garnish, optional
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, salt and butter and mix until combined. Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and use your hands to press the crumbs into a rectangle shape, about 1/4 inch thick. Place in freezer to cool.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch until fully combined. Add the honey, milk, and salt to egg yolks. Bring to a boil and cook until mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes. (stir constantly!) Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla and butter then let cool 10 minutes.
- Remove crust from the freezer and spread the custard evenly over crust, going almost to the edge. Gently cover and chill in fridge for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- When ready to eat, arrange the fruit over the custard. Drizzle with additional honey and garnish with thyme and mint if desired. Slice and enjoy!
- Leftovers will last a 2-3 days covered and refrigerated.
