How to Make a Cream Tart Cake

A cream tart cake is a beautifully decorated pastry that can be made into virtually any shape including letters or numbers to celebrate any occasion. These tarts are typically decorated with a variety of fruits, macarons, and flowers for a show-stopping alternative to a layer cake. 

This tutorial is developed in partnership with Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and the “Better Your Bake” campaign. Thank you for being supportive of me working with brands I use and love.

Cream Tart Overview

Cream tart, letter tart, alphabet tart, cream tart cake…. Whatever you call it, it is all the rage these days. And it’s no surprise! These beautiful tarts are perfect to celebrate any occasion! 

When I was first learning to bake I would have never attempted a recipe like this because visually it looks very complicated. But over the years I realized that once I understood the basics of baking, trying a new recipe can be such a great way to relax. This is why I am excited to announce that this recipe tutorial was developed in partnership with Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and the “Better Your Bake” campaign.

Better Your Bake

“Better Your Bake” is designed to help you master basic techniques so that you can achieve all of the mindful benefits of baking. To help you achieve this, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has unveiled a six-part video series that breaks down basic baking techniques on BetterYourBake.com. Each technique includes a step-by-step video, pro-tips from their team and delicious, seasonal recipes. 

Today’s tutorial utilizes several basic baking tips. These tips will not only help you become a pro at making cream tarts, but will simplify all of your everyday baking!

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How to Make a Cream Tart Cake

A decorated cream tart, also known as a cream tart cake, is made up of a butter cookie base and is typically piped with buttercream. The tart is then decorated with a variety of berries and often things like edible flowers, and macarons. 

Step 1: Make the Tart Dough

To make the tart crust, we are going to use a shortbread cookie dough with the addition of egg yolks. The yolks will add some stability to our cookie so that it does not break easily. 

This brings us to our first baking tip: How to Separate Eggs. To separate your eggs, start with clean hands and then hold the egg firmly in your dominant hand. Tap it gently on a flat surface and then remove one half of the shell, keeping the egg in the other half. Pour the egg into your hand, letting the white drip through your fingers and keeping the yolk in your hand. 

Once the white drips through, place the yolks in a separate bowl and set them aside. We will need them later for our frosting. 

To make the tart dough, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next add the egg yolks and the vanilla. I’m using the Nielsen-Massey Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, which is a beautiful all-purpose vanilla extract. Finally, mix in the salt and the flour until just combined. You don’t want to over-mix the dough or your finished tart can become dry and tough. 

Step 2: Roll out the Tart Dough

Once your dough is mixed together, divide it into four equal pieces to roll it out. This brings us to our next baking tip: How to Roll Cookie Dough. 

The best way to roll out cookie dough is between two pieces of parchment paper. This method requires no additional flour, creating less mess and keeping our cookies more tender. 

To use this method, place your dough between the two pieces of parchment paper and then use a rolling pin to start at the center and roll away from your body. Rotate the dough 90 degrees every few rolls to ensure even rolling.

Step 3: Cut out Your Tart Shapes

Once the dough is rolled out to about ¼-inch thick, pop it in the refrigerator to firm up for about 20 minutes before cutting. 

Once your dough is slightly chilled, you can cut out your tart shapes. This dough is enough for two layers of two shapes, about 5 inches x 7 inches in size. I am cutting out an N and an M for “Nielsen-Massey.”

Lay your template over the dough and use a butter knife to trace the shape. Remove the excess dough and then transfer the shape on the parchment onto baking sheets to bake.

Step 4: Bake Your Tart Shapes

When your cookies are lightly browned on the edges and set in the center, remove from the oven to cool completely on the baking sheets before decorating.

Step 5: Make the Buttercream

For our letter cream tart cake we are going to make a Swiss Meringue Buttercream. This style of buttercream is perfect because it uses the egg whites saved from making the crust. I also love meringue buttercream because it is silky smooth and less sweet which really allows the vanilla to shine through. 

To start the buttercream, we will first whisk the egg whites with some granulated sugar. In order to do this, let’s discuss the next Better Your Bake tip: How to Whisk. 

The best way to whisk is to move from side-to-side rather than in a circular motion. This motion creates the most shear force and is the best way to fully incorporate your ingredients.  

After the whites and sugar are mixed together, we are going to move the bowl to the stove top over a hot water bath. Gently whisk this egg white/sugar mixture over the water bath until it reaches 160 F (71 C). Once the mixture is heated, we can move it to the stand mixer to finish making the buttercream.

Whip the egg whites/sugar at high speed until you reach stiff peaks and the mixture cools down to room temperature. Next, beat in the salt and the butter. Lastly, I am adding in some Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste. This not only gives our buttercream a beautiful vanilla flavor, but it also adds a lovely visual due to the vanilla bean specks present in the paste.

Now that we’ve made our buttercream, we can fill a piping bag and get ready to decorate our letter tart. And this brings us to our last Better Your Bake tip for this tutorial: How to Fill a Homemade Pastry Bag for Piping. 

If you do not have a piping bag or piping tips, you can easily create one with a quart size resealable plastic bag. We need a round tip for our tart, so you will want to cut off the corner of the bag on a curved line. 

Now place the bag in a tall glass and fold the sides down. Use a rubber spatula to fill the bag with the buttercream, no more than ⅔ of the way full. 

Squeeze the buttercream down towards the tip and then twist the top of the bag to seal. Now you are ready to start decorating your tart!

How to Decorate a Cream Tart Cake

To start, you want to do a single layer of dollops all along the bottom layer of the tart. To create a dollop, hover the piping bag over the tart crust holding it vertically. Apply even pressure and then release as you pull up.

Once the bottom layer is filled in, carefully place the top tart crusts on and fill it in with dollops of buttercream as well. Now comes the fun part – all the toppings!

I like to use a variety of berries to decorate my tart: strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I also love to add a few edible fresh flowers as well as some macarons to really elevate the look. But you can keep it simple with the berries or decorate it anyway you like. 

Start by placing your biggest decorations first.

Then you can fill in with your smaller items. I prefer not to overload the top and let a good amount of buttercream peak through.

These tarts are so perfect for any celebration. You can make them into someone’s initials, use numbers to celebrate a monumental birthday, or even create a shape like a heart or a wreath to celebrate a holiday. The possibilities are endless!

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I want to thank Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for partnering with me on this tutorial. Make sure you head over to the Better Your Bake Website and follow Nielsen-Massey on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter for more baking tips and additional recipe inspiration.