Mini Fruit Tarts

 Hello everyone! Having a dessert blog called Light and Sweet means I couldn't leave out my favorite light and sweet dessert, fruit tarts! Fruit tarts are the perfect little treat that has a flaky and crunchy shell, sweet and smooth custard, and fruit of course! Fruit in this dessert pairs well because the shell and filling are both sweet, while the fruit provides a little tang. Pretty much any fruit that you enjoy can be used as a topping, although the traditional choices are raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. The fun part about these little tart cups is that you can customize the toppings any way you like.

HOW TO MAKE MINI FRUIT TARTS

You Will Need:

For the Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter (1 stick, cut into cubes)
• 1 tablespoon cold water

For the Custard:

• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Fruit Toppings:

• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh raspberries

Directions:

For the Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
2. Add flour, powdered sugar and salt to a food processor and process to blend. Add 1/2 cup cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then add cold water and process just until he dough starts to stick together. If the dough is still dry, add more water by the teaspoon.
3. Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into the cups of a mini muffin pan and press onto bottom and partially up sides. The dough will fill anywhere from 18-24 mini muffin cups.
4. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 mines. Use a knife to pop our the mini tart shells. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Custard:

1. Put milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain.
3. Next whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.

To Assemble Mini Fruit Tarts:

1. Spoon custard into the cooled crust cups and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve.

MY REVIEW

Fortunately, I have nothing bad to say about these mini fruit tarts. In terms of the recipe, it was surprisingly easy. For anyone who read my post about the pumpkin mummy cookies, you know why I was hesitant to attempt this tart crust (for those who didn't: I found out the hard way that making pie crust is no walk in the park). I decided to bite the bullet and see how it turned out because this is a dessert that is both light and sweet, so I thought it would be perfect to feature on this page. Thankfully, there were no issues with the crust. I used about 2 tablespoons of cold water to  get it to combine, but it took very little effort. I also used pure vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste, which was strong in the custard. I can only imagine how strong the beat paste would be, so be cautious if you're not a huge vanilla fan. Going off of that, I thought the taste was spot on. The custard was cool and creamy while the shell was sweet and crunchy. The fruit added a third texture and flavor which tied the whole thing together. I give this dessert a 10/10. A perfect score is hard to come by but this one hit all the right categories for me. It tasted great, was easy to make, and was ready to eat quickly. Plus, the mini cups looked so cute! :) 

Original recipe: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/mini-fruit-tarts/#wprm-recipe-container-70825