Parisienne Fruit Tart
Submitted by cookinbetty
Parisienne fruit tart layers crisp puff pastry with vanilla cream and bananas, glazes it with apricot, then crowns it with whipped cream, grapes, and pineapple. A showpiece French pastry from simple shortcuts.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsThis is a patissier-worthy showpiece that takes a clever shortcut: frozen puff pastry patty shells, rolled out into one long, crisp rectangle.
Once baked golden and split into two layers, the pastry gets filled like a napoleon, a quick vanilla cream (whisked from a dessert mix with milk and cream) spread thick, with sliced bananas tucked along the edges.
A brush of melted apricot preserves over the top adds shine and a sweet-tart glaze, the classic French finish that keeps fruit glistening.
Then it’s all about the topping: piped whipped cream, neat rows of green grapes, and pineapple in the center, with little sugar-dipped pastry rings made from the trimmings for an elegant flourish.
It looks like it came from a Paris patisserie window, but the convenience products make it a surprisingly achievable special-occasion dessert.
Pro Tips
- Chill the rolled pastry and prick it well before baking, as the recipe says, so it bakes flat and crisp rather than puffing unevenly.
- Toss the banana slices in lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- Assemble close to serving so the pastry stays crisp; the cream and glaze soften it over time.
Variations
- Use any fruit you like: strawberries, kiwi, peaches, or berries in place of grapes and pineapple.
- Swap the dessert mix for homemade pastry cream.
- Brush with red currant jelly instead of apricot for a different glaze color.
Ingredients
Directions
Remove patty shells from package.
Thaw at room temperature one half hour.
Place rounds of pastry, overlapping slightly, lengthwise on a lightly floured surface.
Roll to a 16×4 inch rectangle. Place on an ungreased large cookie sheet; trim edges evenly; prick well with fork; chill 30 minutes.
Reroll trimmings thinly; cut into ⅓ inch wide strips about 4 inches long; brush with water; press ends together to make rings.
Brush rings with water, then dip in sugar; place on cookie sheet along with rectangle of pastry.
Bake pastry and pastry rings in oven at 400℉ (200℃) for 10 minutes, remove rings wire rack; reserve for decoration.
Bake pastry rectangle 10 minutes longer, or until golden-brown.
Remove to wire rack; cool.
Combine milk, ¼ cup of the cream and dessert mix in a small deep bowl; beat, following label directions.
Chill 15 minutes. Peel and cut bananas into ¼ inch thick slices.
Sprinkle with half the lemon juice.
Split pastry into two layers.
Place bottom layer on long serving dish or board; spread with about ⅔ of soft dessert; arrange banana slices on long side edges; spread with remaining dessert mix.
Top with second pastry layer.
Heat apricot preserves with remaining lemon juice until melted in small saucepan; cool slightly.
Brush all over tart.
Beat remaining cream until stiff in a small bowl.
Pope or spread whipped cream over top of pastry.
Arange neat rows of grapes in cream, starting at outer edges.
Cut pineapple slices in half and place in center.
Garnish with reserved pastry rings.
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