Inverting the muffin pan to bake this tart dough on the outside of the muffin cups gives the golden shells defined shape and flaky texture. Top your tartlets with whichever berries or sliced fruit you like. Find more muffin tin hacks in our July/August 2019 issue!

Fruit Tartlets

  • Tart Dough (recipe follows)
  • Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
  • 4 cups (about 560 grams) assorted fresh berries (such as blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
  • ½ cup (160 grams) apricot preserves
  • 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Invert a 12-cup muffin pan.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll Tart Dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 3¾- to 4-inch fluted round cutter*, cut 12 rounds (about 16 grams each), rerolling scraps as necessary. Drape 1 round onto bottom of each muffin cup. Prick each several times with a fork.
  3. Bake until crusts are golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
  4. Pipe about ¼ cup (85 grams) Pastry Cream into each prepared tart shell. Top with desired berries.
  5. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat preserves and 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water just until bubbly; stir until combined. Strain mixture through a medium-mesh strainer.
  6. Carefully brush preserves mixture onto fruit. Serve immediately.

*Fluted pastry cutters will work fine, but we chose to cut our pastry with an inverted 3⅞-inch fluted tart pan for a prettier scallop design.

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Tart Dough

  • ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter*
  • 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour (167 grams)
  • 1 tablespoon (12 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon (3 grams) kosher salt
  • 1½ tablespoons (22.5 grams) whole milk
  • 1 large egg yolk (19 grams)
  1. Cut butter into ¼-inch cubes. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, and salt by hand. Add frozen butter, and beat at low speed until butter is broken into small pieces, about 1½ minutes. (If any large pieces of butter remain, squeeze between fingers to break up.)
  3. In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together milk and egg yolk. With mixer on lowest speed, add milk mixture to flour mixture, beating just until moist clumps form. Transfer mixture to a large piece of plastic wrap. Using your hands, bring mixture together to form a cohesive dough. (It is fine if there are visible pieces of butter—they help create a flakier crust.) Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. (Dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)

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Pastry Cream

  • 3 cups (720 grams) whole milk
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 teaspoon (6 grams) vanilla bean paste
  • 8 large egg yolks (149 grams)
  • ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (56 grams) cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  1. In a large saucepan, whisk together milk, ½ cup (100 grams) sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Heat over medium heat until steaming.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, salt, and remaining ½ cup (100 grams) sugar. Gradually add warm milk mixture to egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbly, 4 to 5 minutes. Boil until cornstarch flavor has cooked out, about 1 minute more. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Stir in softened butter in two additions. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface of cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold. Whisk until smooth before using.

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