[chefron]

Now that all the glorious berries are in season I'd like to begin making some exotic fruit flans from my home for my local church, but I must confess its been a decade since I've worked the pastry shop! Please refresh my memory! I'm using a short dough, creme patiseerie (forgive my spelling), baking the shell blind, loading the creme and then layering the fruit, topping it with apricot glaze. Is this correct? Any comments?

 

[m brown]

The item you are producing is a fresh fruit tart.To be a flan, the custard would be baked (with the fruit) with caramel.
Try to "wash"(brush a thin layer of tempered chocolate or coating)the cooked, cooled crust with chocolate to keep it crisp.
The pastry cream can be lightened with whipped cream and flavored with coffee extract, chocolate, fruit puree the list goes on.
I also use a short crust that contains egg and baking powder and this crust stands up well to moisture and is very shapley.
Glazing the fruit can be done with your favorite jelly, usually one that matches the color of the fruit.
Time to make dinner...good luck,
there is no end to the styles and types of fruit tarts.