Vanilla Pudding Tart

This is the easiest vanilla pudding tart there is! A quickly made cake base, vanilla pudding, and a topping of mixed fruit or berries.

This pudding tart with fruit is one of those cakes you can be pretty sure that anybody will like. It is so simple, uses such common ingredients and it is so delicious, I can hardly imagine anyone not loving it.

I have a few more of those on my blog, for instance, this Fresh Blackberry Sponge Cake, this Peach or Nectarine Cake, or one of my favorite cake discoveries this year: the Apricot Cake. All super easy-to-make cakes, full of fruit, just the way I like them!

This vanilla pudding cake was my grandmother's - THE cake! It is the only one I ever remember her making, except for the traditional Romanian Cozonac. She started making it after the fall of communism in Romania when we finally had access to such “exotic” things as canned fruit, vanilla pudding powder, and ready-made cake bases.

Yes, you read that right: ready-made cake bases! Because she didn't eat cake, my grandma never had any interest in learning how to bake even the simplest cake. So, imagine her joy when she discovered that there was such a thing as a ready-made cake base.

Recipe notes

Fruit:

• The tart I took photos of is made with fruit, the way my grandmother made it most of the time. So, she mostly used bananas, kiwis, and canned mandarins. I replaced her kiwi with a handful of grapes.
• But you can top this vanilla pudding tart with whatever fruit or berries you like or happen to have, either fresh, frozen, or canned.
• The fresh fruit should be the soft kind and with soft skin, so nothing like apples or plums, for instance.

Cake base:

• You can use a ready-made cake base, but I don't recommend it.
• Stirring the batter for the recipe only takes a few minutes, the baking and cooling time are short. And the results are so much better than anything you could buy.

Vanilla pudding:

• I use Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding powder (Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab), which is cooked with milk.
• One whole pack of vanilla pudding is too tart; you will only need half of it.
• You can only cook half of the packet, but I don't bother weighing the powder; I just make a whole batch, put half of it on the cake, and let my children take care of the rest. They are always happy to help me there. 🙂
• If this brand is not available in your country, use whatever non-instant pudding mix is available. Cook it according to the packet's instructions and use it as described in the recipe.
• You will only need a rather small amount of cooked pudding, about 1 cup.

Fruit glaze:

• I use Dr. Oetker's clear cake glaze to help keep the fruit on the tart. (Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab)
• If not available, use a similar product available where you are and prepare it according to its packet's instructions.
• Alternatively, gently heat a few tablespoons of jam of choice in a small saucepan and use it to brush the fruit on top of the pudding tart. Let dry before slicing.

More fruit tarts

Recipe

Vanilla Pudding Tart

The easiest pudding tart there is! A quickly made cake base, vanilla pudding, and a topping of mixed fruit or berries.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Romanian

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

• ▢ Cake:
• ▢ 80 g all-purpose flour 2.8 oz/ ⅔ cup
• ▢ 75 g sugar 2.6 oz/ ⅓ cup
• ▢ 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ Pudding:
• ▢ ½ packet non-instant vanilla pudding mix Note
• ▢ 250 ml milk 8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ Topping:
• ▢ fruit bananas, kiwis, canned mandarins, grapes etc or berries of choice
• ▢ 1 packet Dr. Oetker fruit tart glaze
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 250 ml water or diluted fruit juice 8.5 fl.oz/ ½ cup, half juice, half water
• ▢ OR
• ▢ 3 tablespoons jam of choice

Instructions

Cake:

• Prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a tart form and sprinkle it with flour. Shake well to coat with the flour, then flip it and pat it gently on its back to remove the excess flour. Do this over the sink. Set aside.
• Batter: With a handheld mixer whisk together all the ingredients needed for the cake base.
• Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared form and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and baked through. Set aside and let cool completely.

Topping:

• Prepare the pudding according to the packet's instructions.

  That is: take a few tablespoons out of the milk and pour them into a small bowl. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil. In the meantime, whisk together the remaining milk, the sugar, and the vanilla pudding powder.

  When the milk comes to a boil, remove from the heat and whisk in the pudding and milk mixture. Place back on the heat and bring to a boil again while whisking all the time. Let bubble once or twice.
• Cool: Set aside and let cool for about 20-30 or until cooled but not set. Place a piece of cling film directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent it from forming skin.

Assemble:

• Place the cake base on a cake platter. When the pudding is cooled, slowly pour it onto the cake base. Let it set well on the cake before topping it.
• Top: When the pudding is set, arrange the sliced fruit or berries on top.
• Glaze: To make the glaze follow the packet's instructions as well. That is: place the glaze powder into a small pot. Slowly add the cold water or diluted juice from the canned fruit (half juice, half water) while stirring all the time to avoid clumps. Place the pot on the heat and bring to a boil stirring continuously. When it boils, remove it from the heat immediately.
• Let set: Spread the glaze over the fruit using a spoon and starting in the middle of the cake. Let the glaze set completely before slicing the tart.
• Alternatively, use jam. Place the jam into a small saucepan and heat gently until runny. Brush the fruit on the cake with the jam. Leave to dry.

Notes

1. Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (Amazon affiliate link).
2. That would be 18 g/ 0.65 oz of Dr. Oetker vanilla pudding powder (Amazon affiliate link) or a similar product. If you cannot find that, use whatever kind of non-instant vanilla pudding mix is available in your country. You will not need a lot, about 1 cup of cooked pudding.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 348mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g

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