Fresh Fruit Tart with Banana-Cream Filling
Submitted by boo7168
Fresh fruit tart with banana-cream filling: a graham-honey crust, creamy banana-gelatin filling, and a crown of plums, raspberries, and blackberries under a glossy strawberry glaze. Dairy-free and naturally sweetened.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
100 minCOOK
0 minREADY
3 hrsThis is a healthy-leaning, no-bake fruit tart that looks like something from a pastry shop but uses no cream, no butter, and no refined sugar. The banana filling is the clever centrepiece, pureed ripe bananas set with gelatin deliver the creaminess that dairy-based pastry cream would, without any dairy at all.
The crust is equally plant-based, graham cracker crumbs bound with canola oil and honey instead of melted butter. Ten minutes of baking sets the crust firmly enough to slice without crumbling.
Lemon juice on the freshly-sliced bananas is the detail that saves the filling. Without it, the bananas oxidize and turn brown, giving you a grey-tinged filling instead of the creamy pale-yellow you’re after. Add the lemon immediately, before the bananas have a chance to darken.
The dual-layer banana design (sliced whole at the bottom, pureed on top) is a brilliant textural touch. Each slice reveals intact banana slices at the base and silky banana cream above. The glaze brushed over the berries gives a pastry-shop sheen and seals the fruit against drying out in the fridge.
Pro Tips
- Use truly ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots, underripe bananas are starchy and give a paste-like filling instead of smooth cream.
- Bloom the gelatin in orange juice for the full 2 minutes before warming, undissolved gelatin leaves unpleasant grainy texture.
- Arrange fruit in concentric circles for pastry-shop presentation, the look is 80% of the reason this dessert is special.
- Serve within 24 hours, the banana filling darkens over time even with lemon juice.
Variations
- Swap plums for sliced nectarines, peaches, or kiwi depending on season.
- Use a nut-based crust (ground almonds or pecans plus honey) for a gluten-free version.
- Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or a splash of rum to the banana puree for more flavor depth.
- Glaze with melted apricot jam (thinned with a splash of water) for a classic French fruit tart finish.
Ingredients
Directions
CRUST: Place cracker crumbs in a medium bowl.
Mix oil and honey together and stir into crumbs, working the mixture with your fingers.
Pat into a 9 or 10-inch pie tin.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 10 minutes.
Cool completely.
FILLING: Combine orange juice and gelatin in a small oven-proof dish.
Let soften 2 minutes, then place dish in a small saucepan containing ½ inch of water.
Warm over low heat until gelatin melts, mixing while heating.
Peel and slice 4 bananas and immediately combine with half of the lemon juice.
In a food processor, purée banana slices with gelatin.
Slice the remaining banana and arrange along bottom of baked, cooled pie shell.
Pour puréed bananas into pie shell, covering slices.
Tap pie gently settle contents.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about hour.
GLAZE: In a small saucepan, combine apple-juice concentrate, honey and minced strawberries.
Simmer over low heat for 6 minutes, stirring frequently.
Press through sieve.
Cool.
When filling is firm, arrange plum slices in a circle, overlapping, on top the pie.
Fill center of circle with alternating circles of red raspberries blackberries.
Brush with glaze and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
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