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Summer is coming and these fruit tarts are like a party in pastry form. Crisp, buttery crusts holding a silky custard filling, and all topped with a rainbow of fresh fruit. Whether served at a garden brunch or sneakily eaten straight from the fridge at midnight, they’re a delightful blend of freshness, sweetness, and just the right amount of crunch.
Ingredients:
For the sweet crust pastry cases
250g plain flour
125g unsalted cold butter (cubed)
90g icing sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
For the custard filling:
240ml milk
50g sugar
15g corn starch
15g unsalted butter
2 large egg yolks
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
Pinch of salt
For the fruit topping:
Seasonal fresh fruits of choice, I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries & blackberries
To glaze:
30g apricot jam
1 tsp water
Mint sprig to garnish
Method
For the pastry crust:
Place the flour, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Add in the butter and pulse in short bursts until you have a breadcrumb like consistency.
Next add the egg and vanilla and pulse again until the dough just comes together, (don’t overmix). Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form a disc. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Once the dough has chilled, take the disc out of the fridge and roll out to about 3mm thick. Cut out rounds slightly bigger than the mini tart tin rim, gently press this into the tart tin, trim the edges and prick the base with a fork. Repeat this for all tart cases, rerolling the excess dough. Place the cases back in the fridge for another 30 mins, preheat oven to 180c.
Take the cases out the fridge, line with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 10-12 mins, then remove the beans and bake for another 8 mins until golden. Once ready take out the oven and allow to cool before filling.
For the custard filling:
In a saucepan gently heat the milk until just simmering.
In a bowl whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt & corn starch until thick & pale.
Whisk the heated milk into the egg mixture, then return to the saucepan and heat over a medium flame whisking constantly until mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Transfer to a bowl and cover with clingfilm making sure it touches the surface of the custard. Chill until completely cooled.
To assemble the tarts:
Spoon the custard even into the pastry cases. Arrange the fruit as desired on top. Gently heat the apricot jam with the water until melted and then brush this over the fruit.
Place a sprig of mint in between the fruit. Place the tarts in the fridge for 30 mins before serving.
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