Summer Fruit Tartlets Recipes

Steps:

• Mix water and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.
• Stir 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture forms fine crumbs. Do not overmix, or pastry will be tough. Stir in enough vanilla water to pull dough together. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Roll dough out into a 12-inch circle. Gently transfer to an 11-inch tart pan. Pat dough into place, cutting off edges and aligning pastry along the edges of the pan. Freeze pastry shell until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake pastry shell in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Prick any large bubbles with the tip of a knife. Allow to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold in whipped cream.
• Spread filling into the cooled tart shell, smoothing out to reach the edges. Arrange mandarin oranges, strawberries, kiwi slices, and berries over the top, covering as much of the filling as possible. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Lay out one pie crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment or on a baking stone, leaving room for the second pie crust next to it.
• Mix together the sliced peaches with half the blueberries, 2 tablespoons of the flour and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a bowl. Pour over one pie crust leaving a 1-inch border. Fold up the uncovered border over the edge of the fruit and pinch into pleats. Sprinkle the crust and fruit filling with 3 tablespoons of turbinado (or raw) sugar.
• Lay out the second pie crust on the baking sheet. Mix together the sliced strawberries, the rest of the blueberries, 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of sugar in the bowl. Pour over the second pie crust and form the galette the same as the first. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar.
• Bake in preheated oven until crust is lightly browned, 12 to 14 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Line tartlet tins with the pastry (use boat-shaped tins if you have them). Bake blind in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. When cold, brush the inside of the tartlet cases with the melted chocolate and leave to harden.
• Mix together the cream cheese and double cream until very smooth, then add the sugar and vanilla essence. Fill the tartlet cases with the cream mixture and arrange the fruit on top. Brush with the apricot or red currant glaze, depending on the fruit used, and leave to set.
• Sift the flour and salt together and rub in the butter and lard until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the cheese, if using, and bind with a little cold water. Chill for 30 minutes and then roll out and use as above.

Steps:

• To make the crème pâtissière, pour the milk into a pan. Split vanilla pod down its length using a small sharp knife (do not cut in half completely). Twist tip of the knife inside the pod to open out like a book at one end, then run the knife down its length to scrape out seeds. (See step 1)
• Put the seeds and empty pod in a medium-sized pan with the milk and bring slowly to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of mins. (Step 2)
• Put egg yolks, sugar and flour into a bowl. Whisk with a hand electric mixer until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy - it should leave a trail that stays on the surface momentarily when the whisk blades are lifted. This whisking will take about 2 mins. (Step 3)
• Pour about a third of the hot milk into the bowl, whisking on a slow speed all the time until it has all been mixed in. Now whisk in the remaining milk, removing pod. (Step 4)
• Return the mixture to the pan, scraping it out of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time, until the custard is thickened, smooth and glossy. At first, it will look a bit lumpy, but persevere - keep stirring and it will become smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 mins, stirring. (Step 5)
• Remove the crème pâtissière from the heat. Beat in the butter until it has melted, then scrape into a bowl. Cover the surface of the crème pâtissière directly with cling film (this will stop a skin forming). Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge until needed. (Step 6)
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Divide the pastry into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each one to line a 7-8cm deep fluted tartlet tin, trim leaving a little pastry sticking up above the tin. Line each one with a paper cake case and add a layer of baking beans. Put on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden.
• Trim any pastry edges that need it with a small sharp knife. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Halve or quarter any large strawberries and remove the stalks from any redcurrants, then mix the fruits together. Fill the pastry cases with crème pâtissière and pile a generous layer of fruits on top. Dust thickly with icing sugar and scatter over some chopped pistachios, if you like.

Steps:

• To make the dough, sift the flour and sugar into a bowl.
• Stir in the ground almonds.
• Add the butter and stir in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add the egg yolk and milk and work in with a spatula, then mix with your fingers until the dough binds together.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• On a flour counter roll out the dough and use it to line 12 deep tartlets or individiual bioche pans (can also use muffing pans if you can get it to form correctly).
• Prick the bottoms.
• Press a piece of foil into each tartlet, covering the edges, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until light golden brown.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• To make the filling, place the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and mix together.
• Place a spoonful of filling in each tart shell and arrange the fruit on top.
• Dust with sifted confectioners' sugar and serve.
• Tip #1: You can use store bought tart shells or phyllo dough if you wish (I would recommend following the instructions for cooking that come with the packages).
• Tip #2: You can substitute many different types of fillings, such as mousse, pudding, yogurt, etc.