A fresh fruit tart is the showpiece of a bakery pastry case–and for good reason. With its clean crust edge and ornate arrangement of fruit glistening with glaze, this dessert is beautiful and conveys a sense of occasion. But anyone who has served one knows that the pretty presentation literally falls apart when the knife meets the tart. Instead of neat wedges, you get shards of pastry oozing messy fruit and juice-stained filling. That’s a disappointing end for a dessert that started out looking so impressive and required several hours to make. By trading the traditional rolled pastry and pastry cream filling for easier, faster alternatives, we produced a fresh fruit tart that is as easy to make but still impressive and delicious to serve.