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Home » Dessert Recipes

Vanilla Custard Tart

Published: Mar 21, 2019 · Modified: Jan 4, 2022 by Jennifer Brown · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

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This vanilla custard tart recipe features a soft almond flour crust and a creamy vanilla custard. Top this light dessert with fresh fruit for a perfect spring and summer treat! The tart is SCD and Paleo friendly. It is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free.

An overhead photo of the vanilla custard tart on a white table garnished with fresh fruit.

I am absolutely obsessed with cooking guru Ina Garten (AKA The Barefoot Contessa) and many of my desserts are inspired by her dessert recipes...and here's another!

I was recently flipping through The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and stumbled upon her Fresh Fruit Tart recipe.

It looked and sounded glorious, so I just had to adapt it to fit into my SCD/Paleo lifestyle!

A slice of vanilla custard tart.

The crust is soft with just the slightest hint of cinnamon. It's then filled with a creamy dairy free vanilla custard and can be topped with fresh fruit! It's a simple, rustic dessert that's perfect anytime of year!

How to make an almond flour tart crust

I chose almond flour for this crust because it's SO easily accessible to me, but any nut flour (with the exception of coconut flour) will work for this recipe.

Begin by mixing the almond flour, honey, coconut oil, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

The dough will be crumbly and have the texture of damp sand but should stick together when pressed.

A four photo collage showing how to make an almond flour crust. Top left, all the ingredients in a white bowl. Top right photo, the dough in a white bowl. Bottom left photo, pressing the dough into the tart pan. Bottom right photo, using a fork to prick holes in the dough.

Place the dough in a greased tart pan and use your fingers to evenly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Use a fork to prick holes into the dough and place the tart pan in the oven to bake.

Once the crust is a light golden brown, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

Note: This crust is very soft and crumbly once baked. If you prefer a sturdier crust then use my Easy Almond Flour Pie Crust recipe instead!

A fully baked almond flour tart crust.

Vanilla Custard Filling

Traditional custard is a combo of milk or heavy cream, eggs, and sugar. Since we're keeping this recipe SCD and Paleo friendly, the milk is swapped out for almond milk and honey replaces the sugar!

The ingredients needed for this silky paleo custard are:

  • almond milk (coconut milk or cashew milk will also work)
  • honey
  • fine sea salt
  • egg yolks
  • coconut oil
  • vanilla extract

Whisk together the honey, egg yolks, and salt in a medium sized bowl while the almond milk comes to a boil on the stove.

Very slowly pour half of the milk into the yolk mixture making sure to whisk the ENTIRE time.

A four photo collage showing how to make a dairy free vanilla custard. Top left photo, egg yolks in a white bowl. Top right photo, mixing the yolks with honey. Bottom left photo, pouring coconut oil into the custard. Bottom right photo, the fully made vanilla custard.

Then pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and continue whisking until the custard begins to boil.

Drop the heat and whisk until the custard has visibly thickened.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Strain the custard into a large bowl.

The custard will look very soupy at this point but will begin to thicken once cooled.

Straining the vanilla custard into a glass bowl.

Cover the bowl of custard with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool.

A cooled and assembled vanilla custard tart.

Once the vanilla custard has cooled and thickened, pour it into the tart crust and use an offset knife to smooth the top.

A garnished vanilla custard tart with a slice cut.

Garnish the top with the fruit of your choosing! I decided on blackberries, blueberries, grapes, and kiwi...so delicious! Hope you enjoy this vanilla custard tart recipe!

A close up photo of the fruit garnishing the vanilla custard tart.

Vanilla Custard Tart Tips

  • Use the egg whites in this Pumpkin Whoopie Pie recipe or make my Honey Italian Meringue.
  • The custard and crust can be made up to two days ahead of time and assembled just before serving.
  • If not following the SCD diet, maple syrup can be used in place of honey.
  • Once you notice a visible thickening of the custard, then remove it from the heat. If the custard is still soupy after 6 hours in the refrigerator, then it was not cooked on the stove long enough.
A slice of vanilla custard on a white plate with fresh fruit.

Craving more sweets? Try these favorite desserts!

  • Paleo Lemon Tart
  • Banana Cream Pie
  • Strawberry Almond Flour Cake
  • Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Icing

If you’ve made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below! This is the best way you can help support me and this blog!

Follow me on facebook and instagram . Tag @alifeofhappenstance and #alifeofhappenstance so I can see your yummy creations!

Vanilla Custard Tart

by: Jennifer Brown
This vanilla custard tart recipe features a soft almond flour crust and a creamy vanilla custard. Top this light dessert with fresh fruit for a perfect spring and summer treat! The tart is SCD and Paleo friendly. It is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Refrigeration 4 hrs
Total Time 35 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Servings 8 servings
Calories 446 kcal

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 2 cups blanched and finely ground almond flour
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil (plus more for greasing pan)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Vanilla Custard Filling

  • 1 ½ cups almond milk (full fat canned coconut or cashew milk will also work)
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
  • ½ cup melted coconut oil (at room temperature)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9" tart or pie pan with coconut oil. Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature before beginning! 
  • In a bowl or food processor, mix together the almond flour, honey, coconut oil and cinnamon. 
  • The dough will look crumbly in the bowl but when pressed together should stick. 
  • Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Use a fork to prick holes into the dough before placing in the oven on the middle shelf. 
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown in color. Allow to cool completely. 

Vanilla Custard Filling

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, salt, and egg yolks. Set aside. 
  • In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the almond milk to a boil. Then slowly pour half of the milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. 
  • Pour the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan and continue to whisk over medium-high heat until it begins to boil. Drop the heat to medium-low and continue to whisk until the mixture visibly thickens. It's a subtle change that can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes (or longer depending on your stove), so it's important to pay attention!  
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until well incorporated then strain into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (making sure the plastic touches the custard) and place it in the back of your refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours or until set. 
  • Scoop the custard into the prepared and cooled tart shell. Garnish with fruit just before serving. 
  • Cover the tart and store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. 

Notes

  • The crust is very rustic and crumbly, for a sturdier crust try my Easy Almond Flour Pie Crust.
  • If the custard is still soupy after 6 hours in the refrigerator, then the custard was not kept over the heat long enough. 
  • Don't skip straining the custard as it will remove any tiny pieces of egg that may have cooked! 
  • Both the tart crust and custard should be cooled before assembly or the crust will get soggy. 
The nutritional information calculated in this recipe is just an estimate. The photos and content above are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos. Please do not copy this recipe and share it on your own website or social media channels. If you wish to tell people about this recipe, you can provide a link back to my blog rather than copying the recipe. Thank you! XO, Jen

Nutrition

Serving: 0gCalories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 8gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 141mgPotassium: 27mgFiber: 3gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 185IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 135mgIron: 2mg
Keyword dairy free vanilla custard tart, vanilla custard tart, vanilla custard tart recipe
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gabi

    November 20, 2020 at 3:41 am

    This is sooooo good
    I made the whole tart a while ago planning to take something to a party but the custard wouldn’t set in time even when I had made it the night before
    People told me to throw it out but instead I put it in the freezer which didn’t do anything
    So then I tried reheating on the stove again and it worked and got thicker! I’m so happy I didn’t give up and add gelatine
    Then it would’ve probably just felt jelly-y
    Anyway so that tart turned out really well in the end and I decorated it with the pretty rose kiwis in the pictures and everyone at home loveddd it and couldn’t even tell it was something gaps
    Yesterday I was feeling like custard so I made some really quickly and left it boiling on the stove abit longer while whisking and it noticeably got thicker and then this morning the consistency was perfect !

    Reply
  2. Cate

    April 24, 2020 at 9:10 am

    Hello! Very excited to find your blog as I have UC and so many of your recipes will be nice on my gut! I have been craving a custard and came across this recipe and decided to give it a go. However, after letting my custard set overnight, today it is still very running and watery ?. Any advice? I tried using an immersion blender and blending it up some more and put it back in the fridge. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      April 26, 2020 at 1:08 pm

      Oh no Cate! Did you substitute any ingredients? The only thing I can think is that it must have needed more time over the heat. I'm so sorry it didn't set for you.

      Reply
      • Cate

        April 27, 2020 at 10:20 am

        I did not substitute anything. But next time I will try whisking it longer over the stove. Thanks! It was still tasty, just not the right consistency.

        Reply
  3. Victoria

    December 23, 2019 at 6:54 pm

    Hi! Can you make the crust dough and the filling a day before and assemble the next day?

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      December 28, 2019 at 11:07 am

      You should be able to.

      Reply
  4. Ann

    November 28, 2019 at 9:45 am

    should the crust be hard when you take it out? I baked mine for 12 min and it was completely soft when I removed it

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      December 02, 2019 at 5:26 pm

      It should be a golden brown and although it will be soft, it should be cooked. As the crust cools it will harden a bit (almond flour is VERY difficult to get crispy).Everyone’s oven is different so it may need more time to bake...

      Reply
  5. Loraine

    October 28, 2019 at 6:07 pm

    Hi, Jennifer! Although my custard didn’t set the end result was delicious. Everything went well until the mixture started to boil. It started scrambling a bit when I took it off my electric stove stop and scrambled more when I added the vanilla and coconut oil at the end. I want it to look as beautiful as yours! Any tips?

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      November 01, 2019 at 10:37 am

      Hi Loraine! It's normal for a tiny bit of the eggs to cook, that's why it's strained in the end but if it really started to scramble, I'm thinking either the heat was too high (everyone's stove top is a bit different with heat, just like ovens) or the mixture wasn't whisked the entire time. Did you change any ingredients or alter the recipe at all?

      Reply

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Welcome! Years ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and found symptom relief by following the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD). Here you'll find deliciously healthy, whole food recipes that can be enjoyed by all!

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