Fresh Fruit & Custard Tarts

At the height of summer. on a warm and sunny day, there is nothing quite so refreshing as a small dessert which includes some fresh fruit.

So this recipe, for a lovely buttery pastry case which holds a thick, creamy custard and is then topped with some raspberries, blueberries and kiwi fruit, is just perfect.

It is actually a very simple recipe, even though it has a number of steps. None of the steps are difficult and the resultants tarts are so very tasty.  

The pastry cases can be made in a bun tin if necessary, but for mine I put the dough onto upturned muffin cups, so that as they baked they folded over the cups to create a very nice case.  

Once the cases are made they can be filled with a rich, thick and creamy custard, which takes little time, but needs to cool down before using.  

After that it just remains to top with fresh fruit.  The choice of fruits can be as varied as desired.  For mine the combination of raspberries and blueberries always works well and the addition of a little kiwi fruit finished them off very nicely.

If desired the tops could be sprinkled with caster sugar, or brushed with a little heated apricot jam or a simple syrup.  I don’t see the need for that, but some people may prefer it.

My tarts worked well and tasted so very good.  I wish I had made more.

for the pastry

• 60g(4tbsp+1 tsp) softened unsalted butter
• 40g(1/3 cup) icing sugar, sieved
• 1 medium egg yolk(large in USA)
• 130g(1 cup minus 2 tbsp) plain flour(based on 150g per cup)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Place the butter and icing sugar into a large bowl and cream together until combined.
2. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolk and mix until combined.
3. Add the flour, in three additions, carefully mixing until just combined.
4. When the dough has come together turn out onto some plastic wrap and pull together with your hands.
5. Wrap into the plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
6. Roll the dough, between two sheets of plastic wrap, out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch(5 mm) and chill again for 20 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/340F.
8. Use a 3 inc(8 cm) scalloped cookie cutter to cut out 8 rounds, rolling the excess dough to make the full number.
9. Chill again for 20 minutes while the oven is preheating.
10. On an upturned muffin tin place each of the discs of pastry, centred as well as possible on the base of the muffin cups.
11. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Place the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar into a bowl and whisk together until the mixture is thick and very smooth. 
13. Place the milk and vanilla into a small saucepan and heat until almost boiling.
14. Pour a little of the milk onto the egg mixture, and whisk immediately to temper the mixture.
15. Add the remaining milk and mix to fully combine.
16. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and, whisking all the time to avoid any lumps, bring to the boil and keep mixing until the custard has become smooth and thick.
17. Pour the custard into a bowl and press some plastic wrap onto the surface to cover entirely.  Then allow it to cool completely.
18. Pipe or spoon equal amounts of custard into the pastry cases until it is all used.
19. Place a combination of the fresh fruits on top, in the desired combination.