18 Easy Fruit Tarts, Galettes, and Crostatas for Summer
Plus, they're all absolutely gorgeous.
ALLRECIPES / VICTORIA JEMPTY
You know how they say something is as easy as pie? Well, here's something even easier. Open-face tarts, galettes, and crostatas deliver the fruit-filled promise of pie but with a lot less fuss. Just so you know, galettes and crostatas have free-form fold-up pastry bases and are so similar they might as well be twins separated at birth, with the galette growing up in France and the crostata in Italy. Tarts are usually, but not always, made in a tart pan. But don't sweat the distinctions unless you're in pastry school. Whatever you call them, these easy fruit desserts offer a more relaxed approach to summer baking. Read on to get 18 favorite recipes for summertime tarts, galettes, and crostatas.
Summer Fruit Galettes
Using ready made pie crust gives this galette a super-speedy prep time. Although this 5-star recipe uses peaches, strawberries, and blueberries, you can use any combination of fresh fruit you have on hand. If your fruit is very juicy, you might want to increase the flour in the filling to thicken up the juices.
Fresh Strawberry Tart
"This tart is so lovely and really makes the flavor of fresh strawberries stand out," says reviewer sonjagroset. "I like the the cheese sauce is not too sweet. My tart turned out a little larger, but I still had plenty of sauce."
Fresh Peach Galette
Vanilla-kissed peaches are piled atop a homemade pie crust. To make it extra pretty, brush the folded crust with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
Phyllo Tarts with Ricotta and Raspberries
Reviewers tweaked and adjusted this recipe by using pre-made phyllo shells instead of sheets, and by adding extra spices to the ricotta filling. "Got lots of raves when I took this to a party," says Janet Katz.
Blueberry Galette
ALLRECIPES / VICTORIA JEMPTY
"This blueberry galette, with its rustic appearance, is fun to make when fresh blueberries are in season. I enjoy the higher crust-to-fruit ratio. Serve with ice cream." —Chef John
Cherry Folditup
Chef John says, "Why am I calling this a cherry folditup, and not a cherry galette, its correct culinary name? Because one sounds like something that's easy to make, and one doesn't." So true. This recipe calls for a homemade pastry crust and cherry pie filling, although reviewer Pie84 used fresh pitted cherries tossed with cornstarch, ground cinnamon, and sugar.
Strawberry Kiwi Tartlets
Need a finger-food dessert for a special occasion? Try these individual tart shells filled with fresh strawberries and kiwi purée, topped by fresh whipped cream. Reviewer lkoeppen315 suggests you blend the kiwis first and then add the honey so it doesn't all fall to the bottom of your blender. Great tip!
Apple Crostata
"This is really good! Easy dessert or breakfast treat. The crust is soooo good. I used Granny Smith apples and about 2/3 of the sugar called for. Will definitely make this again!" —Kim
Apricot Almond Galette
Spread homemade almond paste (almond meal + sugar + egg) on a ready-made pie crust, arrange sliced apricots over the paste, crimp up the edges, and glaze with melted apricot jam after baking. Easy and elegant.
Chef John's Peach Tartlets
The prep is easy: Rounds of pre-made refrigerated pie crust are topped with peaches that have been briefly cooked in a spicy syrup before baking. But it's the spicy syrup that truly elevates this recipe. Chef John uses Chinese five-spice powder: a blend of anise, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns.
Raspberry Tart
The only labor that goes into this easy dessert is making the crust, and that's hardly anything at all. The filling is just fresh raspberries and warm raspberry jam. You can make one big tart or a few small ones, as shown. Grate a little white chocolate over the top as a simple embellishment.
Fresh Fruit Frangipane Tart
Anytime you see the word frangipane, you know delectable almond paste is involved. Chef John shows you how to make homemade frangipane to spread on refrigerated puff pastry sheets before topping with pluots and glazing with apricot jam. If pluots aren't available, you could substitute other stone fruits like plums or peaches.
Pluot Lime Galette
Pluots (a cross between plums and apricots) are tossed with sugar, cornstarch, and lime juice and piled inside a disk of homemade pastry. No pluots? No problem. Use whatever fresh fruit you have on hand.
Blackberry Butter Tarts
Pre-made tart shells are filled with fresh blackberries and topped with a butter and honey glaze before baking. Reviewer the4taals says, "I didn't mash the blackberries but divided them in the tart shells to make sure they were evenly distributed. I used 1 tsp each of lemon zest lemon juice and vanilla. The lemon really emphasises the blackberry flavour very springy and fresh tasting."
White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Fruit Tart
A simple homemade pastry shell is filled with a white chocolate and cream cheese mixture, and topped with glazed fresh berries. "Easy to make and delicious," says blondie7700. "The only thing I did differently was that I used very little of the glaze on top. Since the filling is pretty rich I didn't want to sweeten the fruit too much. It turned out great and got excellent reviews from my family!"
Greek Yogurt Fruit Tart
Dates and cashews are pulsed together to form the gluten-free crust for this tart. Reviewer Kim says, "I would rate this 10 stars if I could! There is nothing about this tart that I don't love — it's absolutely delicious, it's relatively easy to make, and it's beautiful! I used raisins and walnuts in the crust and baked it in a 9-inch springform for 12 minutes. In the filling I used plain Greek yogurt that I added a little honey and vanilla extract to."
Berry Galette
"Galettes are easier than pies, and I love the rustic look," says recipe creator LauraF. "I used raspberries and blueberries in this galette, but it works with a mix of any berries, or just one kind. Make sure you have ice cream or whipped cream to top it with!"
Sweet and Simple Lemon Tart
"This simple lemon tart recipe has a taste you'll never forget." —luvluv1
More Summer Fruit Dessert Recipes
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