Delicious mini fruit tarts made with a buttery shortbread cookie crust, creamy vanilla custard and fresh fruit. The perfect bite-sized easy dessert for spring and summer!

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Mini Fruit Tarts Recipe
Mini fruit tarts are one of my go-to fruit desserts for spring and summer gatherings. They’re easy to make ahead, look beautiful on a platter, and always disappear fast!
Each tart starts with a buttery shortbread cookie crust, filled with creamy homemade vanilla custard and topped with fresh, seasonal fruit. The shells bake in mini muffin tins, and the custard can be made while they cool, making assembly quick and simple.
Perfect for baby showers, brunches, or any celebration, these are as fun to eat as they are pretty to serve. If you enjoy a classic fresh fruit tart or fruit pizza,, you’ll love this fun mini version!

Tips for the Best Mini Fruit Tarts
- Spray the pan. The last thing you want is for the crust to stick to the bottom of the pan. Make sure to spray each muffin cup with nonstick spray before you press in the dough, so that you can easily pop them out once baked.
- Use cold butter. Similar to making homemade biscuits or scones, make sure to use a stick of COLD butter when making the shortbread crust. It helps make them super tender and gives them a delicious sandy texture. I usually stick my butter in the freezer for about 15 to 30 minutes before using.
- Whisk custard constantly. Don’t walk away from the stove! Continue constantly whisking the custard, so that you don’t burn or curdle the mixture.
- Removing crust from pan. After the crust has baked, let them sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They need to cool a bit first so that they keep their shape and don’t crumble from being super hot. Then use a knife to easily pop them out.

Variations
- You could use a premade pie dough instead of making the shortbread crust from scratch.
- For a bolder vanilla flavor in your custard, use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract.
- Use a fresh lemon curd instead of custard if you prefer.
- You can also fill the crust with a chocolate pudding, strawberry cheesecake mousse or cream cheese filling.
- Use other fresh fruit toppings, like chopped strawberries, kiwi, blackberries or mandarin oranges.
Storage Instructions
Because of the dairy custard filling, these mini tarts will need to be stored in the refrigerator. Simply place them in an airtight container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQs
Tarts differ from pies in the type of crust that is used! While both tarts and pies can have savory or fruity fillings, a pie crust is thicker, flakier and firmer than a tart crust. A tart crust is a light and delicate shortbread crust that is formed into a shell that holds a light custard filling.
Yes! If making ahead of time, I would wait to assemble them until the next day. But you can easily bake the tart shells and cook the custard the day before. The tart shells can be stored at room temperature, but the custard will need to chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to begin assembling.
This is often due to not cooking it long enough. If you follow the recipe directions precisely and have some patience it will get thicker as you cook it.
Small fresh berries like blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are popular choices. Small diced kiwi works well, too! I would avoid any watery fruits like watermelon though.

More mini desserts we love include mini fruit pizzas and mini cheesecakes with vanilla wafers!
More Fresh Fruit Desserts

Mini Fruit Tarts
Video
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter , 1 stick, cut into cubes
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
For the Custard:
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ Tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
Fruit Toppings:
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Add flour, powdered sugar and salt to a food processor and process to blend. Add 1/2 cup cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then add cold water and process just until the dough starts to stick together. If the dough is still dry, add more water by the teaspoon.
- Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into a mini muffin pan and press onto bottom and partially up sides. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Use a knife to pop out the mini tart shells. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Custard:
- Put milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain. Next whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture until incorporated. Then whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
- Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Immediately remove from the heat once a slow boil appears and stir in the butter. Allow to slightly cool.
Assemble:
- Spoon custard into the cooled crust cups and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Christine Owens
I think in your instructions something is wrong. It says to put in 1/2 cup of water when making the dough. I am thinking you meant 1/2 Tbsp
Jamielyn Nye
Hi Christine! The recipe says 1/2 cup cold butter and 1 Tb water. :)
Lauren
These look absolutley adorable!! Just out of curiosity, is there a way to make the filling chocolate? I can’t wait to try the recipe out!
Jamielyn Nye
You could try doing a chocolate pudding for the filling!
Lola
Very easy to make and the custard is delicious
Jamielyn Nye
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Banin
Enjoyed making and eating these. they taste amazing!
Jamielyn Nye
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :)
Karel
Looking forward to making this for our shared lunch @ church
Becky Hardin
Seriously, you can not eat just one of these fruit tarts. They are so so good.
Andrea Thueson
These little tarts are absolutely darling and look so tasty!
Jamielyn Nye
Thank you! I hope you enjoy! :)
Sara Welch
These look absolutely perfect! Great to serve at my niece’s baby shower this weekend!
Beth Pierce
What perfect little bites of heaven! These will be great to serve with Mother’s Day brunch!
Courtney
These were perfect at a party – they were the first thing gone!
Laura Smith
Made these for a baby shower and they were the perfect Spring dessert!
Suzanne
Hi! Making these today but I’m only getting 24 minicrusts out of the dough…was I supposed to double the batter?
Thanks!
Laura Capello
Hi Suzanne! It’s possible that your crusts were thicker and/or bigger than ours. Did you have the right amount of custard filling for your number of crusts? :)
Ludmila Mayumi Katsube
How many portions I’m supposed to get?
I Heart Naptime
This recipe makes about 24 mini fruit tarts :)
Marlene
I don’t have a food processor. Can you mix the dough by hand?
Jamielyn
Hi Marlene! A blender works if you don’t have a food processor. :)
Justine
Super easy. I made these in mini parchment cupcake wraps because I didn’t have mini muffin tins. Instead of making a cup with the dough, I pressed it flat into the bottom of the parchment wrapper, then poured the filling on top and left the wrapper on. Worked perfectly.
Linda @ bushel and a pickle
looking forwarding to trying these with my MS girls. Perfect to expand their cooking skills with fun delicious delights.
Holly @HollyPop Designs
These look so yummy!! Definitely going to pin!
Jane
Looks like I messed up on my comment! meant to say that this is such a lovely, simple dessert and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks so much, Jennifer
Leslie
This dessert looks like the perfect thing for Summer! I can’t wait to make it.