Bite Sized Fruit Tarts Recipes

MINI SUMMER FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and cream the sugar with the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
• Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, being careful not to over mix. The dough should be moistened throughout but still a bit crumbly.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
• While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
• Once the cookie dough has chilled, scoop 1 Tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball using your hands, and place a cookie dough ball into each greased well of the mini muffin pan. You should have 24 balls of dough.
• Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until lightly golden. Immediately upon removing the muffin pan from the oven, use the back side of a teaspoon measuring spoon to press down the centers of each cookie, forming a cup. Let the cookie cups cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, beat heavy cream using a handheld electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream using a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Add confectioners sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.
• Add the whipped cream to bowl with the cream cheese mixture and fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cheesecake filling for at least 1 hour (or up to 12 hours).
• Scoop 1 teaspoon of chilled no-bake cheesecake filling into each cooled sugar cookie cup. (To do this easily and neatly, use a teaspoon measuring spoon and a mini spatula.) Top each dessert with fresh berries and garnish with fresh herb sprigs (if using). Enjoy immediately.

MINI FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and butter. Mix on the lowest setting until the butter gets broken down into smaller pieces, about one minute of mixing. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then add the heavy cream and vanilla extract.
• Mix on medium (setting 4 or 6) for about two minutes or until the mixture begins to look like crumbly sand. Test the dough by stopping the mixer and pinching some sandy dough between your fingers. If it sticks to itself and forms a piece of dough, you're ready to knead. If it's too dry, try adding one tablespoon of heavy cream at a time to adjust. (See image for how final dough consistency should be after mixing.)
• Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer and use your hand to form the sand into a ball of dough. I like to do this in the bowl because it's less of a mess.
• Scoop about three tablespoons of dough and use your hands to mold and flatten the dough straight into the tart molds. (Three tablespoons is about 60 grams of dough for a four-inch tart mold).
• Use a fork to prick throughout the bottom of each tart mold.
• Chill the tarts in the molds in the freezer for at least one hour before baking, this will prevent the dough melting too much or shrinking in the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Take your tarts straight from the freezer to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. TIP: At around 8 minutes, check on your tarts to see if their centers are rising. If they are rising, you can open the oven and use a measuring cup to flatten the centers with a tiny bit of pressure. Continue to bake them until you see the edges begin to brown, then remove from the oven.
• Remove the tart shells from the molds and cool them on a rack. The finished shells should be slightly hard to the touch. If you press the centers and they feel soft or there is some flex when you hold them up, they need to be placed back in their molds to continue baking for a few more minutes (make sure to watch these as they finish cooking).
• These tart shells can be pre-made a few days before assembly, just make sure to fridge them after they cool.
• While your tart shells are chilling in the freezer, you can make the custard. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
• Sift together the flour and cornstarch. Whisk in the sifted flour and cornstarch to the egg yolk mixture.
• Add the whole milk and vanilla extract into the egg yolk mixture.
• Move the custard mixture into a saucepan over medium heat and constantly whisk for about one to two minutes or until it begins to thicken. TIP: You will begin to see little thick specks of custard on the bottom of the pan as it begins to thicken. Do not stop whisking at this point, but if you feel this process is going to fast you can remove the pan off the heat and whisk to blend the custard properly. Your custard is done when the consistency is similar to a thick pudding. This process should take no more than a few minutes. (See image here for how the final consistency should look.)
• Remove it from the pan and place the custard in a container to cool for at least 30 minutes before assembly. This custard can be made a day in advance and fridged.
• Slice your preferred fruit. I like strawberries, blackberries, and kiwi.
• Glaze: Add apricot jelly and water in a small bowl. Microwave for about 10-15 seconds to melt the apricot jelly slightly, and mix together using a spoon. Strain the jelly mixture.
• TIP: To prevent your tarts from getting soggy, brush on some glaze to the tart before adding the custard filling. This should act as a barrier.
• Take one shell tart and spoon in the whipped custard cream. I like to add enough custard to fill about ¾ of the tart shell. Arrange your fruit on top however, you prefer. Brush on the apricot glaze over the fruit tart. Serve immediately or chill for about 15 minutes if you want a nice and cold treat.

BITE-SIZED FRUIT TARTS

Steps:

• Combine butter and cream cheese for crust in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Gradually stir in flour and salt until well blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and place on a floured surface. Divide dough evenly into 24 pieces; shape each piece into a ball.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
• While the oven is preheating, press dough onto the bottoms and up the sides of the greased muffin cups. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and set aside.
• Combine milk, cream, and salt for filling in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble around the edges of the pan and wisps of steam are visible, about 3 minutes.
• Stir sugar and egg together in a bowl. Pour 1/4 of the hot milk mixture into the bowl and stir until well combined. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and continue to cook and stir until mixture is bubbling and has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each muffin cup.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking until filling is set, about 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove tarts from the pan and place directly on the wire rack; let cool for 20 minutes.
• Place 1 teaspoon raspberry preserves on top of 8 tarts, then top each with a raspberry. Make remaining tarts by topping 8 with blueberry preserves and blueberries, and the remaining 8 with pineapple preserves and banana slices. Serve at room temperature.