Strawberry pistachio tart is a beautiful summer dessert with a delicious combination of juicy strawberries and pistachios. Top this easy-made sablé Breton crust with cream and fruit of your choice to customize the tart!
Summer heat calls for summery desserts! I got the idea of making this strawberry pistachio tart some time ago but was waiting for juicy berries during the summertime!
If you wonder if strawberries and pistachios go together, the answer is yes.
Wildly known strawberry-pistachio combo brings bright colors and an irresistible taste to a dessert.
A crunchy sablé Breton crust topped with the pistachio mousseline cream balances the texture and flavors of this gorgeous tart.
Add your creativity in decoration and upgrade this strawberry pistachio tart to a birthday dessert.
And if you ever want to try another French favorite with praline mousseline cream, try the Paris-Brest dessert.
Why you should try this recipe
The sablé Breton is a rich, buttery tart base that will make your desserts easier than ever.
Forget about those frustratingly difficult tarts: there is no traditional tart shell here. Instead, you will be amazed at how simple this tart recipe is.
The crispiness and crumbliness of the crust are a perfect complement to an ultra-smooth, creamy texture. The fruit sweetness accents it nicely too.
The perfect pairing for a summery dessert, strawberry and pistachio has been one of the top summer combinations in modern pastries.
Adding another cream and fruit to the shortbread crust offers you endless possibilities for making your own pastries.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
Egg yolks: using an egg separator, separate egg yolks from the whites while whole eggs are chilled. Then bring egg yolks to room temperature.
Sugar: use granulated white or caster sugar.
Butter: the recipe calls for unsalted butter. Use high quality 82% fat content European-style butter to make the sablé Breton crust to get its crisp and crumbly texture. Take butter out of the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you start.
Flour: use all-purpose flour. I haven't tried to make the tart base with another type of flour.
Salt balances and enhances the flavors of the crust.
Baking powder is added to make the crust as a leavening agent.
Milk: use whole milk or replace it with low-fat milk if desired.
Icing sugar: make it yourself with a coffee grinder or use store-bought powdered sugar.
Corn starch: it is a thickening agent to make the pastry cream. Replace it with all-purpose flour if desired.
Pistachio paste is one of the stars of strawberry pistachio tart. Purchase it on Amazon or in special baking supermarkets.
Pistachio nuts: use toasted or raw pistachios to decorate the tart.
Fresh strawberry: use seasonal ripe strawberries cut into halves or quarters.
How to make strawberry pistachio tart
To make sablé Breton crust, place egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer to get a creamy and white mixture (photo 1).
Add softened butter and mix with a rubber spatula to smooth (photo 2).
Using a flour sifter, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients and mix again (photo 3). Wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for two hours.
Heat oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Roll dough between two parchment paper sheets to approximately ÂĽ inch or 6 to 7 mm thick.
Place a 9-inch/23 cm tart ring on top of the rolled dough and press it with your hands. Keep the ring, and remove the excess dough out of the ring (photo 4).
Transfer sablé Breton (being in the ring) with a sheet of parchment paper to a baking tray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly browned (photo 5).
Note: No need to grease the pastry ring and prick pastry.
Remove the crust from the oven. Once it is still hot, remove the ring immediately. Using oven mitts, carefully lift the ring and let the crust cool down on a cooling rack.
To make the pistachio mousseline cream, mix egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch in a bowl.
Bring milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add pistachio paste and mix well with a hand whisk.
Pour a bit of hot pistachio mixture over egg preparation, whisking constantly. Then pour the remaining milk mixture and mix with the hand whisk.
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, constantly stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cream thickens (photo 6).
Remove the pistachio pastry cream from heat, and add 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter, and mix with the whisk.
Transfer the pistachio cream to a shallow plate, cover it with plastic film in contact and let it cool for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature.
Once the cream is cool, add the remaining 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter.
Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until smooth and shiny (photo 7).
To assemble the tart, place the crust on a serving platter and pipe the pistachio mousseline cream with the open star pastry tip - Wilton 1M.
Wash and drain strawberries (don't hull them). Cut strawberries in half or quarters, arrange them over the tart, and sprinkle with toasted pistachios (photo 8).
If desired, add a few pistachios sprinkled with powdered sugar to make the dessert more interesting.
To serve, take the tart from the fridge for 20 minutes before presenting it to the table to allow mousseline cream to soften.
Recipe variations
The tart garnished with mousseline cream is absolutely delicious, but you can use a simple whipped cream instead of mousseline. Pipe it on top with fruit and nuts for decoration.
Referring to the recipe for French strawberry tart will help you learn how best to decorate your tart with only strawberries.
Use other berries, such as fresh raspberries and blueberries, and sprinkle the dessert with toasted almonds.
Or try combining fresh pears, candied pecans, and salted butter caramel: it will make every bite mouthwatering perfection.
And why not decorate your tart with sliced peaches and blackberries and sprinkle it with toasted almonds?
Finally, for tropical fruit lovers, arrange sliced mango and other tropical fruit of your choice and sprinkle with coconut chips or coconut flakes.
Storage instructions
The assembled tart should be stored in the refrigerator and served within 24 hours.
For the best tasting experience, bring the tart to the counter for 20-30 minutes for mousseline cream to soften.
Can you freeze this strawberry and pistachio tart? Since mousseline cream has a pastry cream base, freezing such a cream-topped pastry is not recommended.
This is particularly the case with fresh strawberries that don't tolerate freezing well.
However, you can make sable Breton dough in advance, cover it with plastic wrap, chill for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.
Or you can bake this tart base 1 to 4 days in advance and store it at room temperature.
Equipment
What kitchen tools do you need to make this gorgeous tart?
A mixing bowl with a rubber spatula, an electric mixer, and a rolling pin are essentials to make the tart dough.
If you want an authentic experience, then you will need to invest in a tart ring. As an alternative, try to use a cake ring.
Unfortunately, a regular tart pan (aka tart tin) doesn't work for this recipe. Also, there is no need for pie weights.
Finally, prepare a hand whisk with a heavy-bottomed saucepan to make mousseline cream. Use a pastry bag with the open star pastry tip or another type of tip to pipe the cream.
Expert tips
- Make-ahead option: you can bake the sablé Breton one to four days in advance and keep it at room temperature. But make mousseline cream and decorate the tart on the day of serving.
- If mousseline cream is lumpy while whisking, it means that the butter was too cold when you added it. To solve the problem, let the cream rest and warm up at room temperature until the butter softens completely. Then beat the cream again.
- If you see butter pieces in the mousseline cream, just warm up the cream in a microwave for 2-5 seconds and stir the mixture. You might need to repeat this process, then whisk the cream well.
- If the mousseline cream seems liquid, refrigerate for a few minutes and whisk again.
- Add a few drops of green food color to intensify the color of the cream if desired.
Frequently asked questions
Sablé (Sablés) Breton is a buttery French shortbread biscuit from the Brittany region in northwestern France.
Their name, "shortbread," comes from the high ratio of butter in the recipe.
Mousseline cream (also known as German buttercream) is a combination of pastry cream and butter as a proportion of 2:1, where 2 cups of pastry cream and 1 cup of softened butter.
Love strawberry desserts? Try these next!
- French Strawberry Tart - a delicious strawberry tart with a puff pastry base.
- Strawberry Clafoutis - easy and quick French custard.
- Strawberry Crumble Bars - a summertime strawberry favorite.
- Or browse all the Tart Recipes
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PrintRecipe card
Strawberry Pistachio Tart
Strawberry pistachio tart is a beautiful summer dessert with a delicious combination of juicy strawberries and pistachios. Top this easy-made sablé Breton crust with cream and fruit of your choice to customize the tart!
- Total Time: 2 hours (plus resting time)
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Tarts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
For sablé Breton crust:
- 3 large egg yolks, room temperature
- ½ cup + 1 ½ teaspoons (120 g) granulated sugar
- 5.3 oz. (150 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoon (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
For pistachio mousseline cream:
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (250 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoon (75 g) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 ½ large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons (30 g) corn starch
- 3 ½ oz. (100 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 tablespoons pistachio paste
For the decoration:
- 1.7 oz. (50 g) toasted pistachios
- 10.6 oz. (300 g) fresh strawberries
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- To make sablé Breton crust, place egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer to get a creamy and white mixture. Add softened butter and mix with a rubber spatula to smooth.
-
Using a flour sifter, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients and mix again. Wrap the dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for two hours.
-
Heat oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Roll dough between two parchment paper sheets to approximately ÂĽ inch or 6 to 7 mm thick. Place a 9-inch/23 cm tart ring on top of the rolled dough and press it with your hands. Keep the ring, and remove the excess dough out of the ring.
-
Transfer sablé Breton (being in the ring) with a sheet of parchment paper to a baking tray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly browned.
Note: No need to grease the pastry ring and prick the pastry.
-
Remove the crust from the oven. Once it is still hot, remove the ring immediately. Using oven mitts, carefully lift the ring and let the crust cool down on a cooling rack.
-
To make the pistachio mousseline cream, mix egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch in a bowl. Bring milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add pistachio paste and mix well with a hand whisk. Pour a bit of hot pistachio mixture over egg preparation, whisking constantly. Then pour the remaining milk mixture and mix with the hand whisk.
-
Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, constantly stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cream thickens. Remove the pistachio pastry cream from heat, and add 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter, and mix with the whisk. Transfer the pistachio cream to a shallow plate, cover it with plastic film in contact and let it cool for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature.
-
Once the cream is cool, add the remaining 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter. Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until smooth and shiny.
-
To assemble the tart, place the crust on a serving platter and pipe the pistachio mousseline cream with the open star pastry tip - Wilton 1M. Wash and drain strawberries (don't hull them). Cut strawberries in half or quarters, arrange them over the tart and sprinkle with toasted pistachios.
-
If desired, add a few pistachios sprinkled with powdered sugar to make the dessert more interesting. To serve, take the tart from the fridge for 20 minutes before presenting it to the table to allow mousseline cream to soften.
Notes
- Make-ahead option: you can bake the sablé Breton one to four days in advance and keep it at room temperature. But make mousseline cream and decorate the tart on the day of serving.
- If mousseline cream is lumpy while whisking, it means that the butter was too cold when you added it. To solve the problem, let the cream rest and warm up at room temperature until the butter softens completely. Then beat the cream again.
- If you see butter pieces in the mousseline cream, just warm up the cream in a microwave for 2-5 seconds and stir the mixture. You might need to repeat this process, then whisk the cream well.
- If the mousseline cream seems liquid, refrigerate for a few minutes and whisk again.
- Add a few drops of green food color to intensify the color of the cream if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 467
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 205 mg
- Fat: 29.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 14.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.6 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 161 mg
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.
The recipe was originally published on June 14, 2019. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.
Natalie says
I love strawberry and pistachio together in desserts! This tart looks gorgeous!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Natalie, it's also one of my favorite combinations! Thank you!
kim says
This is the best summer dessert! It was the most delicious cake I've had in a long time.
Jas @ All that's Jas says
A perfect combination for a delicious treat! Can't wait to try it!
Chris Collins says
Strawberries and pistachios are my absolutely favourites, so this is right up my street! Can't wait to give it a go 🙂
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Chris, just let me know once you make it! You will enjoy the tart!
Demeter says
Not only is this a gorgeous presentation but it sounds absolutely amazing! The perfect dessert to impress my guests, thanks.
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Demeter, I hope your guests will fall in love with the tart. You might be asked for the recipe:)
Patty at Spoonabilities says
I've never tried strawberries & pistachios together. This looks like my new obsession!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Strawberries as well as raspberries go well with pistachios.These two combinations are wildly used to make French desserts. Let's get obsessed!:)
Danielle says
The combination of strawberries and pistachios has always amazed me. Such a delicate taste that can't be found anywhere else... Love the tart and can't wait to try the recipe!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Danielle. Enjoy the tart!:)
Taylor Kiser says
Such a beautiful summer dessert! It's sure to be a big hit with everyone!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
What I love the most about this tart is that it is fully customizable. Just decorate the crust with fruit of your choice. Raspberries will perfectly fit here!
Ashley @ Sweetpea Lifestyle says
This cake is beautiful! Can't wait to try this soon!!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Thank you Ashley! Enjoy!:)
Gloria says
Loving the sound of this delicious tart. Pistachios are so great to work with. They pair well with the strawberries. What a great take-along dessert for a bbq party.
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
Gloria, you might be asked for the recipe once the guests try the tart! Enjoy!
All That I'm Eating says
I love the sound of this tart, it's got strawberries and pistachios in so how could you ever go wrong?!
Irina | Baking Like a Chef says
You cannot go wrong with this Strawberry Pistachio tart! Enjoy!:)