Fruit Flan Recipe

Create your next standout dessert by making German fruit flan filled with vanilla pudding and topped with fruits. This sweet treat is sure to please any crowd, so go ahead and serve it at an upcoming event!

So, if you look for a sweet treat to complete your entertaining menu, there is no better dessert option than this simple fruit flan.

It is a sweet treat that will be the talk of your next event. You can serve it at an upcoming birthday party or baby shower and impress everyone there with your baking skills.

It resembles a fancy fruit tart (not a fruit pizza) showcasing glazed fruit, but it is made with a biscuit-like fruit flan base.

And with just a few simple ingredients, this fruit flan recipe is easy for anyone to make.

So don’t stress about trying something new – I promise this flan dessert won’t disappoint. And I am here to help you create your next masterpiece!

What's fruit flan?

Fruit flan is a traditional German dessert made with a fruit base, smooth custard, and fresh fruits covered with a sweet glaze.

In German, it is called Obsttorte (fruit cake in English) or Obstboden, meaning "fruit ground" or "base."

Why? Because the dessert bottom is a fruit flan sponge or shortcrust pastry base to hold fresh, steamed, canned, or frozen fruit.

The Boden (base in English) is often covered with melted chocolate, jam, or rich pastry cream (crème pâtissière in French) to prevent the dessert from soaking through the fruit's moisture.

The fruit base is usually decorated with concentric circles of whole or sliced fresh fruit to give the tart a delicious look.

And what's an extra touch that sure makes the dessert a showstopper?

The authentic German fruit flan is covered with a fruit cake glaze called Tortenguss to fix the fruits and make them shine. It comes in clear and red (to highlight the color of red berries).

Why you should try this recipe

1. Fruit flan is a perfect dessert to serve for special occasions.
2. It feeds the crowd: you will get anywhere between 12-14 servings.
3. This fruit flan cake recipe is so easy to make that even a beginner baker can make it.
4. Summer fruit flan is a must-make, but nothing prevents you from making such a dessert with canned or frozen fruit.
5. Using your favorite fruits or sweet berries allows creating your own fruit flan. The possibilities are endless.
6. Finally, if you want to try one of the best German desserts, here it is!

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Butter: use top-quality unsalted butter softened at room temperature. You will need a bit more for greasing a flan pan.

Sugar: the recipe calls for white sugar (granulated or caster sugar).

Vanilla sugar: you will need one sachet of vanilla sugar.

Salt: it enhances the flavors of the fruit base.

Eggs: use large eggs at room temperature.

Baking powder: as a leavening agent, it helps raise the flan base while baking.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

Bread crumbs: use fine plain bread crumbs to sprinkle the buttered pan. Replace bread crumbs with flour if desired.

Vanilla pudding powder: use a store-bought Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding or make the vanilla pudding yourself.

Milk: the recipe calls for whole milk. Substitute it for low-fat milk if preferred.

Chocolate: dark chocolate is used to prevent the pastry case (flan base) from soaking. Replace it with milk or white chocolate if desired.

Fruits: use fresh berries, and seasonal fruit as the traditional filling for German flan.

Also, you can use canned or even frozen fruits to make this simple fruit flan recipe. Please, check the expert tips below.

Potato starch: it is used as a thickener to make the fruit glaze. Replace it with corn starch if desired. Or use a store-bought clear glaze Tortenguss.

How to make a fruit flan

To make the fruit base, using a pastry brush and softened butter, brush an 11-inch/28 cm fruit flan pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs (photo 1).

Then, using a flour sifter, sift flour with baking powder in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 355 degrees/180 degrees C. Place butter, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar mixture until the sugar crystals are almost dissolved using a stand or electric mixer (photo 2).

Stir in eggs, one at a time, each for about 30 seconds (photo 3). Add the dry ingredients and mix with a hand mixer just to combine (photo 4).

Pour batter into the prepared tin, smooth out (photo 5), and bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes until the golden color (photo 6).

Let it cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack and turn it down. Let it could completely (photo 7).

Transfer the baked base in an upside-down position to a serving plate. Cut each strawberry into four, and slice the canned peaches into ½ inch/1.5 cm wedges.

Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler (or water bath) and brush the cooled flan base with chocolate using a silicone or pastry brush (photo 8). Let the chocolate set for about 30 minutes.

To make the vanilla pudding, follow the instructions on the pack of the instant vanilla pudding, but use the amount of ingredients provided in the recipe card below (photo 9).

Then, pour it onto a shallow dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it cool. Cover the base with a layer of vanilla pudding.

Arrange the prepared fruit in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping fruit slices. Start your design from the outside edge of the flan and work inward towards the center.

To make the cake glaze, stir potato starch into ¼ cup (60 ml) water until dissolved. Bring ¾ cup (175 ml) water with sugar to a simmer.

Stir in the starch mixture and bring it to a boil while stirring. Let the glaze cool a bit, and brush the fruit thinly using a silicone brush (photo 10). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Recipe variations

There are plenty of Obsttorte recipes - from different cake bases to all kinds of fruits and their combinations.

The classic Boden or flan base is biscuit. However, the base can be baked from shortcrust pastry or represent a delicious vanilla sponge flan base depending on your taste.  

To bring some crunchiness, you can sprinkle the buttered fruit flan tin with bread crumbs, flour, or even flaked almonds.

Extra tip: if you are short on time but need to make a quick dessert, keep the Obsttortenboden sponge cake on your hands. It is a ready fruit cake base made by Schlünder company.

In summer, a simple fruit base with a variety of fruit (fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, apricots, or peaches) tastes fantastic.

In the end, use your favorite type of fruit to create your own fruit flan dessert. For example, go for only strawberries (the top choice) and make a strawberry flan or combine different fruits in a mixed fruit flan.

Play with a themed-like flan choosing red fruit or tropical fruits, for example, pineapple, kiwi, mango.

You can use the whole red berries or its slices: mound sliced strawberries like in this classic French fruit tart, go with a flower pattern like in this Peach Tart or make a pattern you desire.

If the fresh fruits are out of season, use canned or even frozen fruit. Serve a slice of your fruit flan with a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy.

But how to prevent the fruit base from soaking? How to keep fruit flan from getting soggy? Here are a few tricks.

Chocolate works perfectly to protect the base from soaking. Use melted chocolate to brush the cooled base.

Then let the chocolate set for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can cover the cooled base with 2 to 3 tablespoons of jam (for example, strawberry jam).

Also, you can sprinkle it with breadcrumbs, ground almonds, or other nuts. This layer will bind any leaking from the juicy fruit.

Finally, make vanilla pudding (use a store-bought vanilla pudding powder or make the pudding yourself) and spread a layer onto the cake bottom. It will also protect the fruit case from soaking.

To fix the fruit on top of the cake, use store-bought clear or red sweet glaze Tortenguss or make it yourself (its recipe is in the recipe card).

You can always replace water and sugar in the glaze recipe with canned (drained from canned fruit) or fresh juice (white grape or apple juice). Or use red berry or grape juice to make a red glaze.

Another alternative is to use the warmed apricot jam, apricot preserves, or other fruit jam/preserves. Just heat seedless jam or preserves in the microwave.

You can add a bit of water if it is too thick. Cool slightly and brush a thin layer of apricot glaze on the fruit. 

How to store fruit flan

The assembled fruit flan is best served on the day of making. You can store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

Can you freeze fruit flan? It is not recommended to freeze the assembled fruit flan. On a freezing, the chemical structure of both fruit glaze and berries changes, which will result in a soggy mess when thawed.

But you can freeze the fruit base. Let it cool, cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for 4 to 6 months. Then, to thaw, bring it to the fridge overnight.

Expert tips

1. While baking the fruit base, add 3 to 5 minutes if you like the fruit crust crisp.
2. Bake the base the day before. Then wrap it in plastic film to prevent it from drying out and refregirate. Assemble the dessert the next day.
3. Omit chocolate layer or pudding layer if desired. Just make one of them to protect the base from soaking (I used both layers, it is my personal preference).
4. Use the juice from the canned peaches to make your own glaze (omit water and sugar in the glaze recipe) or purchase store-bought clear glaze Tortenguss.
5. Brush the top of the fruit with the glaze while it is hot enough, or use a spoon to spread it over the fruit on the fruit base from the center (you will use a few spoons of the glaze).
6. The shiny fruit glaze takes about 1 hour to set.  While chilling, it goes a little faster. So, plan your baking accordingly.
7. If you decorated your fruit flan with exotic fruits such as pineapple, kiwi or mango, don't use the glaze. These fruits contain an enzyme that prevents them from setting.
8. If you use frozen strawberries, arrange them on the base while they are frozen and immediately cover them with the hot glaze. In this way, the juice will stay in strawberries.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.