Mini Fruit Tarts
Classic mini fruit tarts have to be one of the most elegant desserts that are so easy to make at home. A sweet crumbly shell covered with a layer of chocolate and filled with smooth pastry cream and topped with the freshest fruits! You’ll enjoy every single bite packed with flavour and texture.
Ingredients
Tart Base
- 340 g plain flour 2 1/2 cups
- 2 egg yolks
- 65 g icing sugar 2/3 cup
- 170 g butter 3/4 cup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of one lemon
Vanilla Pastry Cream
- 250 ml full fat milk 1 cup
- 15 g cornstarch
- 25 g sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or seeds from one vanilla pod
- 1/4 tsp salt
Toppings
- 40 g milk/dark chocolate melted
- strawberries/ raspberries/ blackberries/ blueberries as desired
Fruit Glaze
- 7 g gelatine powder
- 250 ml warm water
- 12 g sugar 1 tbsp
Instructions
Preparing the Tart Base
- Start by preparing the tart base dough. In a large bowl mix the flour and salt. Add the cubed butter and mix to a crumbly mixture. Work with your fingertips so that you don't melt the butter.
- Add the icing sugar and the lemon peel and combine well.
- Form a well with the ingredients, put the egg yolks in the middle and start mixing. Knead the dough briefly until all the ingredients are incorporated and a smooth dough is formed.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
Preparing the Vanilla Pastry Cream
- In a small saucepan with the heat turned off, combine together all the pastry cream ingredients. Cook your cream filling on medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens. It is important to not move away from the cream while cooking as once it thickens you have to remove it from the stove immediately or it will burn. Place the cream into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic wrap is touching the cream. Leave it to cool down in the fridge for at least an hour.
Making the Tarts
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Spray the tartlet tins with some baking spray and set aside.
- Divide the chilled dough into 8 equal portions.
- Open each piece of dough into a circle, slightly bigger than the tartlet tin, between two sheets of cooking paper. Do not add any additional flour.* Place the dough over the tartlet tin and gentle press it in. Remove any excess dough from the edges by rolling over with the rolling pin. Poke several fork holes at the bottom.
- Blind bake** the tartlets for about 15-20 minutes at 180°C.
- Once cooked let them rest for a few minutes.
- While the tarts are cooling down melt the chocolate. Brush the chocolate over the tart base and let them cool down completely until the chocolate sets.
Assembly
- Once the chocolate is all set and cooled, fill each tart with the pastry cream. And place them in the fridge for 15 minutes so that the pastry cream sets slightly.
- In the meantime prepare the fruit you'll be using to decorate each tart. Decorate each tart with the fruit on top and finally brush the gelatine glaze on top of the fruits so that it keeps everything fresh and gives it a nice shine.
Preparing the glaze for the fruits
- Add the gelatine, sugar and water together and mix well until they let it bloom.
- Refrigerate the gelatine glaze for about 15 minutes. However, it's important that you don't let is set completely that is solidifies. Therefore, do this step when you are almost ready with the tarts.
Notes
*As you are opening the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, there is no need for additional flour. Do not open the dough directly with the rolling, as the dough is too soft and it will get stuck to the rolling pin.
** To blind bake the tartlets, place a piece of parchment paper on top and add weights on top. You can use pie weights or dried beans.