How to Make Fruit Tarts

Yields: 12

Preparation time: 1 ½ hours

Cooking time: 1 ½ hours

Ingredients needed to make Fruit Tarts:

For the short-crust pastry:

• 9 oz all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powdr
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 ½ ox butter, diced
• 4 ½ oz sugar
• Zest of a lemon
• Zest of an orange
• 1 oz ground almonds

For the pastry cream:

• 14 fl oz whole milk
• 2 fl oz elderflower cordial
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 vanilla pod
• 4 oz sugar

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 4 oz sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 9 fl oz apple juice

For the topping:

• 6 oz white currants
• 6 oz raspberries
• 6 oz blueberries
• 6 oz redcurrants

Cooking instructions for Fruit Tarts:

• To make the pastry, place all its ingredients, except the beaten egg, into a food processor and blitz them into a flaky mixture.
• Pour in the beaten egg and pulse further until the mixture clump together to form a soft , smooth dough.
• Shape it into a bowl and wrap it up in a plastic sheet to chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
• Meanwhile, warm up your oven to 400 degrees F and lightly butter a couple of 6-cup small tart tins
• To make the pastry cream, pour the milk into a saucepan and scrap the seeds out of the vanilla pod, into it.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, while beating it continuously and turn off the heat.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, along with the sugar, for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and forms a runny mixture.
• Whisk the corn flour into small amount of cold water to make a smooth paste and whisk it into the above mixture until well combined.
• Pour the hot, vanilla-flavoured milk into the egg yolk mixture, in a thin, continuous stream, while whisking it into the mixture, until all of it is used up to form a uniform blend.
• Return it to the saucepan and reheat it over moderate heat, until it begins to boil again.
• Continue to boil for a minute and tip it into a large bowl.
• Allow to cool the custard for about 10 minutes and whisk in a bout of the elderflower cordial until it blends thoroughly into the mixture.
• Wrap the surface of the bowl with a cling-film and set aside in the fridge to chill.
• Place the pastry on top of a lightly-floured surface and flatten it out, using a rolling pin.
• Lift it up onto the small tart tins and bake it for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry turns crispy golden.
• Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
• To make the glaze, pour in half of the apple juice into a clean saucepan and whisk in the sugar.
• Heat it over moderately high heat until it starts boiling and turn off the heat.
• Whisk in the corn flour in rest of the apple juice until well combined without lumps and drizzle it into the apple juice syrup.
• Reheat the mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until it turns thicker considerably and beat in the golden syrup.
• Continue to cook the glaze until it starts boiling again and turn off the heat; keep it aside until it cools down.
• To make the tart, pipe the cream into each baked tart case and top it up with the assorted fruits in a decorative pattern.
• Smother the fruits with the glaze and leave it in the fridge to chill until its time to serve.
• Serve cold.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons