This strawberry tart pairs a crisp French sweet pastry shell with pistachio pastry cream and fresh strawberries. I first made it after a memorable slice of tarte aux fraises à la pistache at the Jacquemart-André museum café in Paris. It's elegant, make-ahead and far easier than it looks - no pastry skills required.

strawberry tarts filled with pistachio pastry cream and topped with fresh strawberries and roasted pistachios

French Strawberry Tart with Pistachio Pastry Cream

This French strawberry tart has three simple parts: a fully baked sweet pastry shell, chilled pistachio pastry cream and fresh strawberries on top.

Bake the tart shell and make the cream ahead, then assemble the tart just before serving so the pastry stays crisp. I use homemade pistachio paste for the most natural flavour, but a good shop-bought one works too - as long as it isn't mystery green gloop.

This recipe was inspired by a sumptuous slice of a Tarte aux fraises à la pistache from the legendary trolley of Parisian patisseries at Paris's Jacquemart André Museum's café. I just had to recreate it at home, a reminder of a perfect way to spend an afternoon in Paris.

See my list of Best Tearooms in Paris for more Parisian tea salons.

ingredients for a strawberry tart - making the tart shell and a filling with pistachio paste and fresh strawberries — ***Ingredients:*** sweet pastry, pistachio paste, milk, sugar, egg yolks & strawberries

Ingredients for Strawberry Tart with Pistachio Pastry Cream

You only need three main elements for this strawberry tart: a baked sweet pastry shell, pistachio pastry cream and fresh fruit.

Sweet Pastry Tart Shell

I use my French pâte sucrée recipe for the tart shell. It bakes into a crisp, lightly sweet pastry base that holds the pistachio pastry cream without going soggy.

For one large tart, blind bake the shell until golden. For tartlets, prick the bases well and bake them empty until crisp.

Pistachio Pastry Cream

The filling is a classic pastry cream flavoured with pistachio paste. Homemade pistachio paste gives the best flavour, but if you use shop-bought paste, check that it contains pistachios and not added oils, colourings or fake, synthetic flavourings.

Bonus: this recipe uses 5 egg yolks, which is rather handy if you're planning on making macarons.

Fresh Strawberries

Use ripe, fragrant strawberries and add them just before serving. Gariguettes, Dely, Mara des Bois, Charlotte or any sweet seasonal strawberries work beautifully here.

See more inspiration and recipes on the strawberry guide.

French tarts with strawberries and pistachio pastry cream — French tart recipe adapted from my 2nd cookbook, *Teatime in Paris*

How to Make Strawberry Tart with Pistachio Pastry Cream

The full recipe card below gives the exact quantities and timings, but here's the simple order: bake the tart shell, chill the pistachio cream, then assemble with fresh strawberries.

Bake the Sweet Pastry Tart Shell

Bake the sweet pastry shell until golden, then leave it to cool completely before filling. A warm shell will soften the cream, and nobody needs a tart with a soggy bottom.

sweet tart crusts, showing 2 medium tart shells and 3 tartlets unbaked — Either make one large tart shell or a few tartlets

whisking cornflour, pistachio paste and hot milk into egg yolks and sugar to make pastry cream

Make the Pistachio Pastry Cream

Cook the pastry cream until thick enough to hold its shape, then cover the surface directly with cling film and chill for at least an hour. Before filling the tart, whisk it again with a little cream until smooth.

covering pastry cream with cling film to avoid a skin forming

How to Make Pistachio Pastry Cream

For the upmost natural pistachio flavour, add homemade pistachio paste to the pastry cream.

But first, make the custard: heat whole milk with a little vanilla powder (or vanilla extract) in a saucepan. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar with the cornflour/cornstarch.

Whisk in the pistachio paste until smooth, cover the surface of the pastry cream with a piece of plastic wrap to stop it from forming a film, then cool.

Keep aside the leftover egg whites (2-3 days or freeze)
for these egg white recipes.

Fill and Decorate the Tart

Spoon or pipe the cooled pistachio pastry cream into the cooled, pre-baked tart shells. Top with sliced strawberries, whole berries or a mix of berries, then finish with a few toasted pistachios.

pushing out pastry cream in a piping bag using a scraper — push out pastry cream using a scraper

Make Ahead and Storage

You can bake the sweet pastry shell the day before and keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. The pistachio pastry cream can also be made the day before and kept covered in the fridge.

Assemble the tart on the day you serve it, ideally a few hours ahead at most. Once topped with fresh fruit, keep it chilled and eat within 24 hours.

one large French tart with pistachio pastry cream and strawberries and 3 mini tartlets

What Fruit Goes with Pistachio Pastry Cream?

Crème pâtissière à la pistache goes beautifully with strawberries, but it also works with other summer fruits. Think of pistachio like almond's slightly posher cousin - a little green, a little nutty and very happy with berries.

Sweet strawberries (Mara des Bois, Gariguettes) - also delicious with pistachio ice cream with the extra vanilla - and a touch of wasabi!
Cherries - top with a few Morello or sour cherries and the pistachio flavours just pop.
Raspberries - just as good as strawberry.
Peaches or nectarines - lovely with pistachio, just as with almond.
Figs - add toasted pistachios for extra crunch.
Pears - so good together and a little grated chocolate.

glass dish holding a tart with green pistachio cream topped with a fanned strawberry

More French Tart Recipes

Love pistachio or almonds as a filling? Then try these tart recipes:

Pear and almond tart (Tarte Bourdaloue)
strawberry almond tart - disguised upside down and glazed as a cake
le Saint-Germain almond tart
fig tart with honey and almonds - made with bought puff pastry (quick and easy)
peach tart with almonds - like the fig tart: quick and delicious with puff

Strawberry Tart with Pistachio Pastry Cream

Jill Colonna

French strawberry tart with crisp sweet pastry and pistachio pastry cream. An elegant make-ahead dessert adapted from my book Teatime in Paris (2015).

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Chilling time 1

Total Time 1 45

Course Dessert, teatime

Cuisine French

Servings people

Calories 118 kcal

Equipment

24cm/9-inch tart ring (or tin) or 8 individual tartlet tins/rings

Ingredients

Classic Sweet Pastry Tart Shell

Pistachio Pastry Cream

400 ml (14fl oz/1 ⅔ cup) whole milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
5 egg yolks organic
60 g (2.5oz/¼ cup) sugar
2 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch
1-2 tablespoon pistachio paste See recipe link in NOTES
30 g (2 tbsp) single or heavy cream (crème fleurette in France)

Garnish

1 punnet fresh strawberries hulled, halved or sliced