Fruit Tart Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
Fruit Tart Vanilla Cupcakes are like mini fruit tarts in cake form! They're filled with luscious pastry cream and are topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit for the ultimate spring dessert!
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 424kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the pastry cream:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste sub with vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
For the cupcakes:
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the whipped cream:
For the fruit topping:
- 4-6 strawberries stemmed, halved, and sliced thinly
- 1 small navel orange peeled and segmented
- 2 kiwi peeled, halved, and sliced thinly
- 4 blackberries halved or cut into thirds
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam use jelly to avoid chunks if possible
- 1 tablespoon water or enough water to thin the mixture
Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream:
- Fill a large bowl with ice, and enough water to fill the bowl halfway. Place a medium bowl in it with a fine mesh strainer nearby along with a piece of buttered wax paper. Set aside.
- Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium low heat until just before it begins to boil.1 cup whole milk
- While the milk heats, place the sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk until well incorporated. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until smooth. When the milk is hot enough, add a few tablespoons of it to the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Add ⅓ of the mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly. Once ⅓ has been added, add the rest all at once while whisking constantly until combined.1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 large egg yolks, 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Place the mixture back in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, until the mixture begins to boil. Continue to cook for another minute until very thick, reducing the heat to medium low as needed.1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and softened butter, then place in the strainer over the bowl set over the ice bath and strain to remove any lumps. Cover the pastry cream with the buttered wax paper to prevent a skin from forming and allow to cool at room temperature.
- Once cooled, remove from the ice bath and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. For best results, make in advance and store in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight. Whisk the cold pastry cream to loosen it as necessary before using.
Prepare the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.1 1/3 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed about 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs one at a time until incorporated.1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
- Mix the vanilla into the milk. With the mixer on low, add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.3/4 cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Divide the batter evenly between the paper liners. Bake on the middle rack of the oven 18-20 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes spring back when pressed gently. All oven temperatures vary, so check the cupcakes for doneness after 15 minutes and go from there. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.
Decorate the cupcakes:
- Prepare the stabilized whipped cream. Using a paring knife, cut a 1" circle in the center of each cupcake, cutting at an angle toward the center to about 1/2" from the bottom. Remove the cake and cut off the pointed bottom leaving just a thin circle of cake to cover the pastry cream filling. Fill the center with about 1 heaping teaspoon of pastry cream, and cover with the thin circle of cake (you will have pastry cream left over).
- Once filled, frost each cupcake with about 1 tablespoon of the whipped cream frosting. Pipe the remaining cream around the edge of the cupcake for a border (I used a Wilton 1M tip). Top each cupcake decoratively with the fruit.Stabilized whipped cream
- Heat the apricot jam in a microwave safe bowl for about 20-30 seconds or until warm, then stir in the water (add more to reach the desired consistency). Brush the jam gently over the top of the fruit with a pastry brush to give it a glossy finish (this also helps preserve the fruit). Serve the cupcakes, and enjoy!4-6 strawberries, 1 small navel orange, 2 kiwi, 4 blackberries, 2 tablespoons apricot jam, 1 tablespoon water
Notes
- Pro tip: Break this recipe into components! Prepare the pastry cream up to a few days in advance; prepare the cupcakes up to 1 day in advance and store at room temperature; then prepare the whipped cream and the assemble the cupcakes the day you plan to serve them.
- You can decorate the cupcakes with your favorite fruit (just avoid banana), and feel free to pipe on the whipped cream however you like.
- Pastry cream and whipped cream must be kept chilled for food safety, so store assembled cupcakes (with pastry cream and fruit) in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They’re best enjoyed within 1 day.
- Note that the cupcakes will firm up a bit and feel denser because chilling tightens the crumb and locks in moisture. I recommend letting the cupcakes sit at room temperature for just a few a minutes before serving so that they're cool but not ice cold.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 195mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g