A simple delight: Mini fruit tartlets
Serves 8
These mini fruit tartlets can be "dressed up" or "dressed down" depending on the situation.
Serve with beautiful fresh berries for a dinner party or half a peach or slices of pear or kiwi for a casual cup of afternoon tea. The tarts will travel well in a sealed plastic container and easy are to prepare ahead of time for your next picnic. Here are more ideas on how to pack the perfect picnic.
Recipe as seen on: dailygourmet.co.uk
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 3-4 tbsp cold water
Creme patissiere
- 300 ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 egg yolks (free range)
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- Tartlets
- Mixed fruits of your choice (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc.)
Directions
Pastry
1. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the butter.
2. Rub the butter into the flour with your hand, until it starts looking like breadcrumbs, work quickly to prevent the dough becoming warm.
3. Add the water slowly to the pastry and mix with a cold knife until it starts forming a dough, you can add more water if the pastry is too dry.
4. Wrap the dough in cling film and put into a fridge for 30 minutes.
5. Roll it out with a rolling pin.
Creme patisserie
1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan (don't bring to boil).
2. In a large bowl whisk the yolks and sugar, when smooth sift in the flour, combine together.
3. Add the warm milk (slowly) to the mixture. Whisk continuously.
4. Put the mixture back into the saucepan, gently bring to boil whisking continuously until thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Tartlets
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted).
2. Line the pastry in your mini tart tins, prick the base with a fork, put it into the oven and blind-bake it for 12 minutes (to blind-bake it, cover the pastry with baking paper and fill it with baking beans).
3. Remove the beans and the paper, bake for another 12 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
4. When baked, remove from the oven and put on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Fill the bases with creme patisserie, smooth the surface out with a spoon or spatula.
6. Arrange your selection of fresh, sliced fruits on top and serve.
Republished with permission from com.au.