One of my favourite sweet treats to make during summer is a fresh fruit tart. Who doesn’t like the combination of rich and silky-smooth vanilla-scented pastry cream and ripe, juicy fruit in a crispy, buttery tart shell? It doesn’t require a lot of baking (who wants to have the oven heating up your kitchen on a hot day, right?), and it’s an absolutely gorgeous dessert!

This recipe is essentially the same one that I use for my Fruit Tart recipe, except I used pastry cream with a hint of lemon, and made mini tarts instead of one big one. I used organic blueberries, but you can, of course, decorate with any kind of fruit.

These tartlets are fairly easy to make, and will be sure to turn out beautifully if you keep a few things in mind. While you can make the pâte sucrée (sweet crust pastry) dough and pastry cream a day or two in advance, and store them in the fridge, it is best to save the assembly of the tartlets until the day they are going to be served. I recommend brushing some melted white chocolate on the bottom and sides of the baked and cooled tart shells before filling with the pastry cream. The chocolate coating ensures that the tart shells remain crispy for longer. Ideally, you also want to brush on a clear glaze over the top of the fruit to preserve its freshness and give your tartlets a lovely shine. Having said that, the tartlets that you see here were made, assembled and eaten all in the same day, so I didn’t bother with the chocolate coating or the glaze.

Did you make this recipe?

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BLUEBERRY LEMON TARTLETS

Makes 12 tartlets (using tins with top diameter 2.5″/6 cm, bottom diameter 1.5″/4 cm, height ⅞”/2 cm)

Ingredients:

Sweet Crust Pastry:
135g flour, sifted
90g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
45g sugar
1 small egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of lemon zest

Pastry cream:
250 ml milk
50 g sugar
20 g corn starch
1 egg yolk
peel of 1 lemon
1/4 of a vanilla bean (or 1/4 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract)

White Chocolate, melted

Topping:
Blueberries (or choice of fruit)
Other garnishes, as desired

Glaze (optional):
1/4 cup apricot jam

Method:

To make the pastry:

1) Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar on slow speed until well blended and no lumps remain. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2) Add in egg yolk, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Mix on low speed, scraping down the sides, until well blended.

3) Add in the flour. Continue to mix on low speed until just combined. Do not overwork.

4) Using your hands, bring the dough together to form a ball.

5) Shape dough into a flat, round disk. Wrap well with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

To make the pastry cream:

1) Pour about 3/4 of the milk into a pot, add lemon peel, slit open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the pot (or add vanilla bean paste or lemon extract).

2) In a medium bowl, combine cornstarch and sugar. Then add egg yolk and the remaining milk. Whisk until well blended. Set aside.

3) Heat milk over medium-high heat. When it simmers, remove lemon peel and pour half into the bowl of cornstarch/sugar/egg yolk/milk mixture, while whisking constantly. Whisk well, then pour the mixture back into the pot.  Place the pot back on the stove over medium heat.  Continue whisking vigorously and the mixture will quickly start thickening. Once it thickens, continue whisking until the mixture bubbles.

4) Remove from heat, pour into a heat-proof bowl,.  Using the whisk attachment of a hand or stand mixer, whisk on high speed until it cools to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the pastry cream to prevent a skin forming. Set aside.

Making and assembling the tart:

1) Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

2) On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4″ (0.64 cm) thickness. Using a round cutter that is about 2″ (5 cm) wider in diameter than the diameter of the top of your mini tart tins, cut out circles of dough and press them into the tart tins. Use a knife to cut off the excess dough. Dock the pastries by pricking all over the bottom of the shells with a fork, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3) Place the tartlet shells on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden around the edges.  Remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

4) Once cooled, tap the edges of the tart tins gently on your work surface, until the pastry shells come loose.

5) Brush the bottom and sides of the tart shells with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Set aside to dry.

6) Give the pastry cream a good stir.  Fill the tart shells with pastry cream.

7) Arrange fruit on top of the tartlets. Garnish as desired.

8) (Optional) Heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat, just until it becomes liquid.  Then pour through a sieve placed over a small bowl.  Using the back of a spoon, push through any remaining liquid (discard the leftover fruit pieces).  Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of jam over the fruit.