Fresh Blueberry Mini Tarts
These bite-size tarts would be perfect for a party. Prepare the tart shells and the pastry cream a day or two ahead of time and assemble on the day of. Your kids would enjoy putting them together.
Author: Lemons & Anchovies
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: Makes 12 Mini Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 sheet store-bought frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed (for 12 tarts; I use Pepperidge Farm)
- 1 - 1½ pints fresh blueberries (this is a guess, I had one pound of blueberries and I didn't measure)
- 1 cup half-n-half (I use fat free)
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon cold, unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Flour, for dusting dough
Instructions
- To prepare the Pastry Cream: In a small saucepan, bring the half-n-half, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and remaining sugar. Add the 2 egg yolks and stir until mixture is smooth.
- Temper the egg yolk mixture by ladling about ¼ cup simmering half-n-half into the bowl and whisk well to combine. Transfer the mixture into the simmering liquid, whisking vigorously. Allow the pastry cream to bubble for 5 seconds, then remove the pan from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Transfer to small bowl, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
- To prepare the Puff Pastry: Place the still-folded sheet of puff pastry on the counter facing you vertically (long end up and down). Don't flour the counter at this point; if you're afraid of sticking, use parchment paper. Open the two panels of the dough and lightly brush both sides of the right panel with water and fold it back into position. Cover with the left panel and press the pastry down to seal. Lightly brush the top of the pastry with water then roll the short edge away from you as if making a jelly roll. Make the roll as tight as you can. You should have a thick, 3-inch wide log when you're finished. Roll the log back and forth on the counter to extend it to 3½ - 4 inches. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you wait for the pastry cream to chill.
- To prepare the Tart Shells: Preheat your oven to 400°F. If the edges of your log are uneven, use a serrated knife to trim then cut the log into 12, roughly ¼-inch slices. Don't discard the edges, though. You may need them to make the 12th piece if you slice unevenly. I've done this. It's better to work with pastry slices when they're chilled work with one or two at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator.
- Lightly flour your work surface and flatten the pastry slice with your fingers into a 3 - 4 inch circle. Alternatively, you can also use a rolling pin for this. I've tried both methods with minimal difference in outcome of the baked tart shells. The latter is a lot faster, I've found. Press the dough agains the bottom and sides of the muffin pan. If you're using a ⅓ cup muffin pan, you should have enough dough to reach the top of the tin, allowing you to create lip around the top. If you're using a regular muffin pan, just press the dough as far up the well as possible.
- Prick the dough with the tines of a fork to avoid too much puffing then fill the muffin wells with dried beans, rice or pie weights.
- Bake the shells for about 16 minutes or until the edges are puffed and golden. Remove the shells from the pan followed by the pie weights, rice or beans and cool them on a wire rack until they're ready to fill.
- To assemble the Tarts: Add a teaspoon or two of the chilled pastry cream to each shell. Don't be tempted to add more than this or you might not have enough to fill all 12 shells. Top with as many blueberries as you like. Arrange on a platter and serve.
Notes
The tart shells and pastry cream will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Just store the shells in an airtight container until ready to use. I found that they remained crisp for 48 hours in the fridge.
Lisa { AuthenticSuburbanGourmet } says
Jean – love these!!! What a perfect treat for dessert. I love that hubby said they are pastry shop quality and could have come from France. Our hubbies are often our best critics and if they tell you something is great, then it is. 🙂 These are on my list for sure to make. Love the photos! BTW – looking forward to your new series – great idea!!!
Liren says
Gorgeous! Now I see the pastry cream has been put to very good use! I love how mixing and matching recipes makes more fun in the kitchen, I was planning on doing the same today 🙂 Can’t wait to see the new series, Jean! Have a wonderful Sunday 🙂
Shut Up & Cook says
These are stunning! Delicious too, I’m sure. Love making old recipes, but seldom do it enough. Thanks for the inspiration.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I’ve been looking forward to this post all day :). I love that these tarts showcase fresh blueberries in all their glory, and how versatile they are. I think I’ll take you up on your Nutella suggestion! Beautiful photos as always. Happy Sunday, Jean!
Jen @ Savory Simple says
Prettiest photos I’ve seen all day, that’s for sure! These tarts look divine.
PolaM says
They look so good! Summery, delicious and bite-sized! Would love an handful of these!
Belinda @zomppa says
Don’t blame you for not keeping silent on this one! It’s gorgeous!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Wow… I love blueberries and I want to dive into this photo and grab those blueberry tarts! I love Chinese egg tart and all kinds of mini tarts. These look heavenly! So adorable and how nice to have homemade mini tarts. At the same time these can be dangerous for me because you will know 10 of them are all the sudden missing if I’m around in the kitchen! 😉 Have a great week Jean!
Patty says
Lovely Jean! I can’t have enough blueberries this Summer, that’s for sure! I like that you’re mixing and matching from your favorite recipes to create even more recipes, how fun is that!?! Beautiful staging for your photos here and beautiful photos;-)
marla says
LOVE these sweet little blueberry tarts. Simple perfection. Looking forward to your spotlight series 🙂
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
These are so unbelievably cute! And bite-sized treats are always more inviting! And I absolutely love that you can save the shells.
angela@spinachtiger says
Little bite size desserts are all the rage now and these would be perfect for a dessert spread with some variety. Puff pastry is so handy.
Judy | Bebe Love Okazu says
Hi Jean! Hope you had a nice weekend. I think this is something that I can actually make (laughing). I love it’s simplicity and freshness. Much to my bebe’s dismay we recently passed on a large pack of great-looking blueberries because we already had too much fruit at our house for the week. Next time…I know we’ll all enjoy it!
Pepy says
I can feel the summer here! The blueberries are so gorgeous!
baker street says
I love these bite sized treats! These would be perfect to serve a crowd.
Rosa says
Lovely! going to have some tonight with sweet pastry crust…
cheers,
Rosa
Suzanne says
The blueberries are just so blue in these photos Jean no wonder you wanted to share your latest creation with us. I love mini tarts and blueberries just perfect with the pastry cream…yum!
Jen Laceda @ Tartine and Apron Strings says
Jean, I saw these on Facebook and couldn’t wait to read your post! As usual, you’ve made some beautifully rustic individual tarts! Love them…wish I could pop one in my outh right now!
Jennifer (Delicieux) says
Your mini tarts look so delicious and adorable. And those photos makes me want to reach into my screen and grab one.
kankana says
Oh it excited me too and why shouldn’t it! Any successful story happens in the kitchen and I get all jumpy to share it 🙂 I am glad you did cause this sounds perfect for the season.
Jennifer says
I love how elegant these look. Puff pastry is so fun to work with. I’m going to my cousins son’s 1st birthday party this weekend and these would be the perfect little finger dessert to bring!
RavieNomNoms says
These are just TOO darn cute! The look so fresh and lovely! Your pictures are amazing too!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
Stunning! These just look amazing!
Alina says
I’m drooling! It looks fantastic!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
These tarts look so yummy, and they’re absolutely stunning. I have to tell you, I’m a huge fan of pastry cream.
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
I have to say, your hubs is right, these look like French-pastry-shop. Now If only I could do some taste-testing.
Jeremiah says
I wanted to take a moment to say that I like the pictures of the food, and the way you set up the images with the other objects. Your food acts as the center piece and the other objects create a smooth picture. If you would like you can take a look at my site http://www.passporttoexperience.com, either way thanks for the images, they are nice.
Kayleigh says
These look absolutely divine!
Kristi @ My San Francisco Kitchen says
Wow these look so fresh and delicious! I have to try them 🙂 Wonderful photography!
Russell van Kraayenburg says
These little tarts look incredible! And such lovely shots with the pop of blue!
Live to Eat says
Wow! This looks amazing! Sometime I want to do something like this on my blog:) Here is the link to it: sweeetcooker.blogspot.com
Come check it out and see if you like it.
Thanks, Maddie