Vanilla Bean Custard Tart with Blueberries

Fresh berries are plentiful in the spring, and what better way to enjoy them than scattered on top of a beautiful custard tart?  I used my long French tart pan for this tart, and the narrow, rectangular shape looks so elegant.  This gorgeous custard tart has homemade, creamy vanilla bean custard in a flaky, all-butter pastry crust, topped with blueberries. It’s easy to make, and the pastry cream sets fairly quickly, so you can enjoy slices of this tart in just a few hours.

You might also love this classic lemon tart, coffee cream chocolate tart, and chocolate caramel tart.

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About This Recipe

The base of the tart is a thin and flaky pastry crust or pie crust that is “blind-baked” (baked without any filling inside), then cooled before you fill with the vanilla bean custard.  The custard, or pastry cream, is so dreamy.  It’s rich and creamy, thickened with egg yolks and corn starch, beautifully flecked with specks of vanilla bean and finished with a bit of butter. Rather than baking the custard in the finished crust, you’ll cook the custard on the stove, let it cool for a bit, spoon it into the crust and then refrigerate to chill and set.

The most fun part is piling all the berries on top.  Garnish just with blueberries, or choose a medley of berries, sliced exotic fruit, or stone fruits like peaches, cherries and apricots when they’re in season.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 recipe All-Butter Perfect Pie Dough. This is my recipe for pie dough or pastry dough that bakes up thin, flaky and buttery. It stays crisp even when filled with pastry cream.
• Egg White. While blind-baking the pastry crust, you’ll brush the dough with egg white to help to seal the crust to keep it crisp.

Filling

• Granulated Sugar. Sweetens the custard, although I’ve deliberately kept my vanilla bean custard less sweet, to let the flavors of the vanilla bean, butter and cream shine.
• Corn Starch. Thickens the custard so that you can neatly slice it.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Whole Milk + Heavy Whipping Cream. Adds richness, creaminess and flavor.
• Egg Yolks. Adds richness and thickens the custard.
• Vanilla Bean. Scrape the seeds from a real vanilla bean, or use vanilla bean paste. The flecks of vanilla bean throughout the custard are just beautiful.
• Unsalted Butter. A little butter added at the end adds more flavor and richness.

Instructions

Crust

• Prepare 1/2 recipe All-Butter Perfect Pie Dough.
• Once your pie dough is ready to roll out, line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Set your tart pan with removable bottom on the baking sheet.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough thinly, to almost 1/8 inch thick.
• Transfer the dough to the tart pan, and fit it against the bottom and up the sides of the pan, pressing gently against the sides. You don’t want to stretch or pull the dough, but allow enough slack in the dough so you can fit it snugly down into the edge of the pan.
• Use a sharp knife or scissors to trim the edge of the dough, allowing about 1/2 inch overhang. Keeping this overhang will allow for shrinkage as it bakes, and then you’ll finish trimming the dough even with the top of the pan after baking the crust.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F, and freeze the crust in the pan for 20 minutes while the oven is pre-heating.
• Spray a piece of aluminum foil lightly with non-stick spray, and fit the foil, greased side down, against the frozen crust. Fill the foil with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake the crust, covered with the foil and dried beans, for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven, scoop the beans out of the foil, then gently peel the foil off the crust.
• Brush the egg white over the bottom and sides of the crust. Return the pan to the oven, and bake, uncovered, for an additional 12-15 minutes, just until the crust is baked through and starting to turn a pale golden brown.
• Remove from the oven. Immediately use a sharp knife to trim the edge of the crust so it’s perfectly even with the top of the pan. Let cool while you make the custard.

Filling

• In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch and salt.
• Slowly whisk in about a cup of the milk, whisking smooth any lumps of corn starch, then whisk in the rest of the milk, cream, egg yolks and vanilla bean seeds/paste.
• Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until the custard starts to bubble and thicken; this should take about 8-10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, continue to cook and whisk for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the custard through a mesh strainer to strain out any bits of cooked egg, until a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap resting right against the surface of the custard, and refrigerate for 1 hour until no longer hot.
• Loosen up the cooled custard with a spatula, then spread into the cooled crust. Refrigerate the tart for about 2 hours, or until the filling is well chilled and set.
• Remove the sides of the tart pan, and decorate the pie with fresh berries before serving.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

What size is your rectangular tart pan?

Most long tart pans are around 14 x 5.5 inches. These types of tart pans or quiche pans have a removable bottom, so that you can easily lift the tart up and out of the sides of the pan to present it with the beautiful fluted edges.

Can I use a round tart pan instead?

If you don’t have a 14-inch long tart pan, you can also make this tart in a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom, or even in a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, served as pieces of pie.

Can I use vanilla extract instead of real vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste?

You can, but you’ll get the best flavor, not to mention all those beautiful black specks, by using real vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste.

How much pastry dough does this recipe make?

The crust recipe yields enough dough for a single pie crust.

What can I serve with this tart?

Berries are always delicious, and you can choose just one type or use a medley of berries. Stone fruits like apricots, cherries and peaches would be lovely, when they’re in season. Or go exotic or tropical with sliced fruits like mango, papaya and kiwi.

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