This simple tart recipe is a perfect budget-friendly real food dessert – made with minimal sugar, loaded with fruit, whole grains, and topped with lightly sweetened yogurt and fresh mint.
If you like healthy desserts, you might enjoy our other simple, healthified desserts here!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Summertime begs for simple desserts topped with fresh, vibrant berries. My health begs for treats that aren’t heavy or loaded with sugar, and my budget begs for something affordable.
Real Food Summer Fruit Tart fits the bill perfectly. It’s easy to whip together, uses minimal ingredients, and is delightfully unfussy (most days, I just toss a handful of berries on top and call it good – or better yet, enlist the kids to decorate).
Get the recipe below (I won’t make you scroll through paragraphs of backstory you don’t care about). But check below it for nutrition information, tips, and ways this recipe helps us save money and eat healthy!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo #cheapskatecook and@cheapskatecook on Instagram.
Real Food Fruit Tart
People have strong opinions about dessert. Some say they shouldn’t be healthy – that’s what makes them dessert, right? Some insist on sneaking kale into the brownies (“Maybe THIS time they won’t notice!”)
This fruit tart has two options.
Fruit Tart 1: Simple, Healthier Dessert
A classic fruit tart crust with a lightly, barely-sweetened yogurt topping decorated with fresh berries. Not too rich, but it’s something extra special.
Fruit Tart 2: Real Food Dessert (or Breakfast!)
With a whole-grain, naturally sweetened crust, this fruit tart makes the perfect decadent breakfast or wholesome dessert. Topped with lightly, sweetened yogurt and decorated with fresh berries.
I won’t tell you which to make, I’ll just say I would eat both in a heartbeat.
Real Food Fruit Tart
This simple tart recipe is a perfect budget-friendly real food dessert – made with minimal sugar, loaded with fruit, whole grains, and topped with lightly sweetened yogurt and fresh mint.
For the Crust: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg yolk 1 tsp vanilla For the Topping: 3/4 cup yogurt cheese* or cream cheese, softened 3-4 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) 2-3 cups assorted fruit, washed, dried, and chopped (as appropriate) ((peaches, kiwis, pineapple, and/or berries)) 1-2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, as a garnish ((optional)) For the Crust:
In a medium-size bowl, combine flour and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar on high with an electric mixer until creamy. Continue to beat as you add egg yolk and vanilla, until completely blended.
Reduce mixer speed to low and stir in flour and salt just until it is blended and a thick dough starts to form. Do not overmix.
Lightly flour your hands and press the dough into a ball. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes (this will make the dough easier to work with).
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Use butter to grease the bottom and sides of a tart pan or line an 8×8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper (you can also simply grease the baking dish, but you won't be able to lift the crust out of the pan for a prettier presentation).
Remove the dough from the fridge. Flour your hands and place the dough in the center of the pan. Use the heels of your hands to gently work the dough evenly across the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Use a fork to prick the crust in several places (this helps ensure even baking).
Bake in the center of the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is a light golden brown (the edges will be slightly darker) and baked through.
Place on a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
For the Topping:
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the yogurt cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. If using cream cheese, you may need to use an electric mixer.
Generously spread the frosting across the cooled crust and top with fruit as desired.
Use scissors to chop a few mint leaves. Leave the rest whole. Sprinkle them across the tart as a garnish.
1. Healthier/Breakfast Version:
To make the crust more wholesome, substitute the flour with part or all whole wheat or spelt flour. You can also use 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup instead of sugar. These changes will make the crust more hearty and breakfasty, but it is still delicious!
2. *Go here to learn how to make Yogurt Cheese!
3. Gluten-Free? Try this pie crust recipe (it’s egg-free too!)
4. Dairy-free? Try this Whipped Cream Topping (you can substitute maple syrup for the sugar, but it will make the texture less firm)
5. To Make the Strawberry Flower Design (as Pictured):
Thinly slice a large handful of strawberries that are roughly the same size. Line them up, bottom/pointed end facing outward, in a large circle around the outside of the tart. Line up the next ring of strawberry slices, setting them slightly in-between and overlapping the top half of the outter ring of berries. Repeat the layers until the empty circle in the center is roughly 3-inches across. Slice the top off one strawberry and place it in the center of the tart. Fill the gap between the center berry and the strawberry flower with blueberries. If you are using a square baking dish, fill the corners with blueberries as well. Use scissors to chop a few mint leaves. Leave the rest whole. Sprinkle them across the tart as a garnish.
Mini Fruit Tart Variation:
Obviously, a mini tart pan would be ideal, but here is how to do it with a muffin pan!
Line a muffin tin with paper liners and press the crust into the bottom of each muffin cup. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Allow the crust to cool completely. Gently remove paper liners and top the tarts as usual.
This Real Food Fruit Tart is:
Simple
Delicious
Real food options!
No weird ingredients
Perfect for parties
Perfect for breakfast
Perfect to eat by yourself with a fork
Gluten-free option!
Dairy-free option!
Egg-free option!
How This Fruit Tart Helps Us Save Money & Eat Healthy In the summertime, the grocery stores in our area do an excellent job marketing their quick strawberry desserts featuring some kind of cake that’s loaded with ingredients we try to avoid and whipped toppings that don’t even use real milk. While those are certainly a simple and (moderately) delicious option, this tart tastes better, is made with more wholesome ingredients, and costs less! Summer mornings make me crave something sweet that isn’t oatmeal. Sometimes I make a smoothie or parfait. Sometimes I make this. Yogurt! Berries! Whole Grains! We never, ever have leftovers
(Go here for our budget-friendly berry hacks!)
“I’m Not Much of a Baker.”
If fussy baking is intimidating to you, this is the perfect recipe to help you make something impressive! The crust is straight-forward and forgiving, and if you can stir a spoon and scatter some berries, you can make the rest.
Kid-Friendly Fruit Tart
If you make the crust, most kids can put together the rest of the tart themselves! It’s a simple way for them to make something delicious, learn about real food, and have fun decorating it with fresh fruit (bonus: less work for you).
Since my goal is to work myself out of a job, this recipe is a perfect stepping stone.
Mini Fruit Tart (Tartlets) Variation:
Obviously, a mini tart pan would be ideal, but here is how to make tartlets with a muffin pan!
Line a muffin tin with paper liners and press the crust into the bottom and sides of each muffin cup. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Allow the crust to cool completely. Gently remove paper liners and top the tartlets as usual. Why Stop at Dessert?
When the ingredients include berries, yogurt, and whole grains, why limit Real Food Fruit Tart to a healthy dessert? We eat it for breakfasts and snacks.
Step-By-Step Photos:
After you bake the crust, this is what it should look like (note – for the photos, I used all-purpose flour. Whole grain will be a lot darker):
The yogurt topping should be thick and creamy.
Spread the yogurt topping evenly.
Arrange the fruit in any way you like! Instructions for this strawberry flower is in the recipe.
Enjoy!
You Might Also Like:
We love desserts that feature fresh fruit. Here are some of our favorites:
3-Ingredient Frozen Berry Whip Oat & Berry Bars (Vegan) Strawberry Breakfast CakeMix-in-the-Pan Berry Oat BarsReal Food Apple Crisp What You Can Do Now:
Healthy desserts: Do you love them or hate them?
If you found this post helpful, let us know! Leave a comment, share it on Facebook or Pinterest, and follow us on Instagram or YouTube for more!
Slash your grocery budget and feed your family real food! Get simple, frugal, real food menu plans every month for FREE in the Cheapskate Cooks’ 1-Min Email. Get the next one here.
This post Simple Summer Fruit Tart (Made with Real Food) appeared first on Cheapskate Cook.
#Vegetarian #Breakfast #Dairy-Free #Summer #Spring
