Strawberry Pistachio Tart (Sablé Breton)

Quick Summary: Strawberry pistachio tart is a French-style summer dessert made with a crisp, buttery sablé Breton crust, a smooth pistachio mousseline cream, and fresh strawberries. There is no traditional tart shell to line or blind bake, so this easy strawberry and pistachio tart comes together with less fuss than a classic tart.

What is strawberry pistachio tart?

Strawberry pistachio tart is a French-style fruit tart built on a sablé Breton, a thick, buttery shortbread biscuit from the Brittany region of northwestern France. Unlike a classic tart, there is no pastry shell to line or blind bake: the sablé Breton is baked flat as a crisp, crumbly base, then topped rather than filled.

On top sits a smooth pistachio mousseline cream (pastry cream enriched with butter and flavored with pistachio paste), finished with fresh strawberries. The combination of a rich, cookie-like base, nutty green cream, and sweet-tart summer berries is what sets this dessert apart from a standard strawberry tart or a frangipane tart.

Why you'll love this recipe

• No blind baking: the sablé Breton base is baked flat, so there is no fragile tart shell to line, chill, or blind bake with pie weights.
• Make-ahead friendly: you can bake the buttery shortbread base days in advance and top it before serving.
• A texture and flavor balance: the crisp, crumbly crust pairs with the ultra-smooth pistachio mousseline cream and juicy strawberries.
• A modern pastry pairing: strawberry and pistachio are one of the top summer combinations in French patisserie.
• Easy to customize: swap in other creams, berries, or fruit to make the tart your own.

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 the 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 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.

• Cornstarch: a thickening agent for the pastry cream. Replace it with all-purpose flour if desired.

• Pistachio paste is one of the stars of the strawberry pistachio tart. Purchase it on Amazon or in special baking supermarkets.  

• Pistachio nuts: use toasted or raw pistachios to decorate the tart.

• Fresh strawberries: use seasonal ripe strawberries cut into halves or quarters.

Equipment

Here is the equipment you need to make this strawberry pistachio tart:

• A tart ring (or a cake ring as an alternative); a regular tart pan does not work here, and you do not need pie weights
• A mixing bowl and a rubber spatula for the dough
• An electric mixer and a rolling pin for the sablé Breton
• A hand whisk and a heavy-bottomed saucepan for the mousseline cream
• A pastry bag fitted with an open star pastry tip to pipe the cream

How to make strawberry pistachio tart

Step 1. To make the sablé Breton crust, place egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer to get a creamy, white mixture (photo 1).

Step 2. Add softened butter and mix with a rubber spatula to smooth (photo 2).

Step 3. Using a flour sifter, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients and mix again (photo 3). Wrap the dough in plastic film and refrigerate for two hours.

Step 4. Heat oven to 355°F (180°C). Roll the dough between two parchment paper sheets to approximately ¼ inch (6 to 7 mm) thick.

Step 5. 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 from the ring (photo 4).

Step 6. Transfer the 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 the pastry.

Step 7. 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.

Step 8. To make the pistachio mousseline cream, mix egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl.

Step 9. Bring milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add pistachio paste, and mix well with a hand whisk.

Step 10. Pour a bit of hot pistachio mixture over egg preparation, whisking constantly. Then pour the remaining milk mixture and mix with the hand whisk.

Step 11. 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).

Step 12. Remove the pistachio pastry cream from heat, and add 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter, and mix with the whisk.

Step 13. 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.

Step 14. Once the cream is cool, add the remaining 1.7 oz. (50 g) softened butter.

Step 15. Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until smooth and shiny (photo 7).

Step 16. 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.

Step 17. 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).

Step 18. If desired, add a few pistachios sprinkled with powdered sugar to make the dessert more interesting.

Step 19. 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

Here are a few ways to vary this strawberry pistachio tart:

• Simpler cream: swap the pistachio mousseline for plain whipped cream, then pipe it on and decorate with fruit and nuts.
• Strawberries only: for a classic look, decorate with strawberries alone, following the method in my French strawberry tart.
• Mixed berries: use fresh raspberries and blueberries and sprinkle the tart with toasted almonds.
• Pear and caramel: combine fresh pears, candied pecans, and salted butter caramel for a fall version.
• Stone fruit: arrange sliced peaches and blackberries on top and scatter with toasted almonds.
• Tropical: add sliced mango and other tropical fruit, then finish with coconut chips or flakes.

Storing & freezing

Store the assembled strawberry pistachio tart in the refrigerator and serve it within 24 hours. Bring it to the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before serving so the mousseline cream softens.

Freezing the finished tart is not recommended, since the pastry cream base of the mousseline and the fresh strawberries do not thaw well.

You can, however, prepare ahead: chill the sablé Breton dough for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months, or bake the base 1 to 4 days in advance and keep it at room temperature.

Expert tips

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you see butter pieces in the mousseline cream, 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.
4. If the mousseline cream seems liquid, refrigerate for a few minutes and whisk again.
5. Add a few drops of green food color to intensify the color of the cream if desired.

Recipe FAQ

What is sablé Breton?
Sablé Breton is a buttery French shortbread from the Brittany region in northwestern France. Its name comes from the high ratio of butter in the dough, which gives it a crisp, crumbly texture.

What is mousseline cream?
Mousseline cream, also called German buttercream, is a mix of pastry cream and butter in a 2:1 ratio (2 parts pastry cream to 1 part softened butter). Here it is flavored with pistachio paste.

Do you need to blind bake this strawberry pistachio tart?
No. The sablé Breton base is baked flat inside a tart ring, so there is no traditional tart shell to line or blind bake with pie weights.

Can you make a strawberry pistachio tartlet instead?
Yes. Cut the sablé Breton into smaller rounds and pipe the pistachio mousseline cream on top to make individual strawberry pistachio tartlets. Adjust the baking time down for the smaller size.

Can you make this tart ahead of time?
You can make the sablé Breton dough or bake the base 1 to 4 days in advance and keep it airtight. Add the pistachio cream and fresh strawberries shortly before serving so the crust stays crisp.

How many calories are in strawberry pistachio tart?
One slice of this strawberry pistachio tart has about 467 calories, based on the recipe yielding 10 slices.

Love strawberry desserts? Try these next!

• French Strawberry Tart
• Strawberry Clafoutis
• Strawberry Crumble Bars
• Browse all the Tart Recipes

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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.