Strawberry Custard Tarts

My daughter used to like to watch Sandra Lee's Food Network show Semi-Homemade and I liked to make fun of her for watching it.
That is my introduction to this very simple recipe for fresh strawberry tarts. It also came about when I wanted an easy dessert and was looking through my pantry, I found vanilla pudding mix and frozen pie crust.

Semi-homemade Fresh Strawberry Custard Tarts
Yield 12 small tarts

Ingredients

12 large fresh strawberries.

Custard:
1 package vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 cup cold milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Crust
1 frozen pie crust (half a package)


1) Whisk 1 1/4 cup cold milk into a package of Trader Joe's vanilla pudding mix*.
Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Chill.

2) Preheat oven to 375 F. Allow on frozen pie crust to come to room temperature.

3) Roll out on wax paper.

4) Use a jar lid or whatever to cup into 12 circles. I found a large mouth canning ring was perfect. Use a fork to make lots of tiny pricks in the dough.

5) Lightly grease a muffin tin. Fill each cup with a circle of pie crust. Press them in to fit the cup.

6) Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes depending on how thin the crust is, allow to cool before removing them from the muffin tins. It is OK if they shrink down a bit, mine did.

7) Now you have all the components and you can put them together right before you serve them, that way the crust won't get soggy. Take a tablespoon of pudding and fill a tart shell.

8) Cut up the strawberries in any way you like and stick them in the pudding. You can use any kind of fresh fruit you like, raspberries, blueberries, apricots, peaches, etc...

9) The pudding and crusts should last for a week in the fridge.


* I just found out they don't carry it anymore :-( I am sure there is something equivalent at your local grocer or Whole Foods. You can also use the kind they have in the dairy case, Kozy Shack makes a decent pudding.

Winter fruit tart

This seemed like the perfect start to my food blog. Someone ask me to make a fruit tart for a party I was attending. At first I scoffed, fresh fruit tart in winter ?? Then I took up the gauntlet and devised this seasonal winter tart.  

My daughter posted this on her Facebook page: "I'm related to the person who made this. Persimmon, kiwi, grapefruit, with pomegranate sprinkled on top. Art." 

It's a simple and very adaptable tart recipe, use whatever is in season. It is much easier to make if you have a tart pan with a removable bottom. It might work in a spring-form  pan too. The crust can be made ahead of time.

Recipe

The Crust- preheat the oven to 375 F

In a food processor or mixing bowl combine:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

Add and mix:

1/4 cup almond meal

1 1/2 cup flour

Add:

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Blend until the dough holds together. Press the dough into an 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake for 15 minutes or until  light golden brown. This may be done ahead of time.

Cool the shell before filling.

The Filling

In a food processor or mixing bowl combine:

8 ounces of soft cream cheese

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoon milk, or lemon juice or  almond liqueur*

1 tsp. vanilla extract

(* you can choose depending what fruit you use and your flavor profile. I even added a tsp. of finely grated lime rind to the tart in the photo.)

Spread this mixture over the tart shell and chill until firm 30 to 60 minutes or longer if you like.

You can make a glaze or just use the fruit on top. I used  the champagne rose jelly I make,  I recommend a jelly or light colored jam.

The Glaze

In a small sauce pan combine:

1/2 cup jelly

1 to 2 tablespoons of water, lemon juice or liqueur

Heat slowly to mix and thin the jelly or jam (strain if your jam has chunks).

Cool the mixture.

An hour or so before you plan to serve the tart arrange 3 to 4 cups of sliced fruit on the filling.

Use whatever is in season, if the fruit tends to turn brown dip it into some lemon juice first. 

Let the tart be your palette, the fruit, your paint. 

Once you have arranged the fruit  the way you like it, brush gently with the cooled glaze.

Chill for another hour before serving.