Delicious mini fruit tarts made with a buttery shortbread crust, creamy vanilla custard and topped with fresh fruit. The perfect bite-sized sweet treat for spring and summer!
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Custard Filled Mini Fruit Tarts
While I love a classic fresh fruit tart or fruit pizza, there’s just something about a mini dessert that’s so fun to enjoy. These are one of my favorites bite-sized sweets, along with mini cheesecakes and chocolate cake pops.
As the weather warms up, I find myself shifting focus from chocolate and caramel desserts to lighter-flavored sweets. I love fruit desserts and these mini fruit tarts really let the juicy fresh berries shine.
I also love mini desserts this time of year. Entertaining tends to take a more casual turn with dinner and drinks on patios and decks, kids running around outside until dark, and bite-sized desserts seem both fancy and casual to me. You can grab one (or more!) as you’re passing by the dessert platter and there’s just something so pretty about a collection of little tarts piled up on top of each other. These mini fruit tarts would be great for those end-of-year or graduation parties we all seem to have this time of year.
The crust is made from a simple food processor dough reminiscent of shortbread and pressed into mini-muffin tins. Vanilla custard fills the cups after they’re baked and you should top the custard with whatever fruit is freshest and at its peak at the time.
There is a little more work evolved for this recipe since both the crust and custard are made from scratch, but I promise it’s worth it! You can make the custard while the tart shells are baking, then all that’s left to do is assemble your mini tarts.
Tips for the Best Mini Fruit Tarts
- Spray the pan. The last thing you want is for the crust to stick to the bottom of the pan. Make sure to spray each muffin cup with nonstick spray before you press in the dough, so that you can easily pop them out once baked.
- Use cold butter. Similar to making homemade biscuits or scones, make sure to use a stick of COLD butter when making the shortbread crust. It helps make them super tender and gives them a delicious sandy texture. I usually stick my butter in the freezer for about 15 to 30 minutes before using.
- Whisk custard constantly. Don’t walk away from the stove! Continue constantly whisking the custard, so that you don’t burn or curdle the mixture.
- Removing crust from pan. After the crust has baked, let them sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. They need to cool a bit first so that they keep their shape and don’t crumble from being super hot. Then use a knife to easily pop them out.
Variations
- You could use a premade pie dough instead of making the shortbread crust from scratch.
- For a bolder vanilla flavor in your custard, use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract.
- Use a fresh lemon curd instead of custard if you prefer.
- You can also fill the crust with a chocolate pudding, strawberry cheesecake mousse or cream cheese filling.
- Use other fresh fruit toppings, like chopped strawberries, kiwi, blackberries or mandarin oranges.
Storage Instructions
Because of the dairy custard filling, these mini tarts will need to be stored in the refrigerator. Simply place them in an airtight container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQs
Tarts differ from pies in the type of crust that is used! While both tarts and pies can have savory or fruity fillings, a pie crust is thicker, flakier and firmer than a tart crust. A tart crust is a light and delicate shortbread crust that is formed into a shell that holds a light custard filling.
Yes! If making ahead of time, I would wait to assemble them until the next day. But you can easily bake the tart shells and cook the custard the day before. The tart shells can be stored at room temperature, but the custard will need to chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to begin assembling.
This is often due to not cooking it long enough. If you follow the recipe directions precisely and have some patience it will get thicker as you cook it.
Small fresh berries like blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are popular choices. Small diced kiwi works well, too! I would avoid any watery fruits like watermelon though.
More Fresh Fruit Desserts
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Mini Fruit Tarts
Video
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup cold, unsalted butter , 1 stick, cut into cubes
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
For the Custard:
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ Tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 3 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
Fruit Toppings:
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Add flour, powdered sugar and salt to a food processor and process to blend. Add 1/2 cup cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then add cold water and process just until the dough starts to stick together. If the dough is still dry, add more water by the teaspoon.
- Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into a mini muffin pan and press onto bottom and partially up sides. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Use a knife to pop out the mini tart shells. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Custard:
- Put milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain. Next whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture until incorporated. Then whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
- Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Immediately remove from the heat once a slow boil appears and stir in the butter. Allow to slightly cool.
Assemble:
- Spoon custard into the cooled crust cups and let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 4th of July, Desserts, Fruit Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Mini, Nut-Free, Pies + Tarts
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
I’ve been looking for a bite-size mini muffin pan, and all the ones I see online seem be bigger than the one you have in your picture. I would love to know where to get the tiny muffin size. Thanks in advance.
I have found some at Walmart, Amazon, or Target when I was searching and found them. I hope that you too can find one!
Thank you so much. I ordered the Wilton mini muffin trays from Amazon, and they worked perfectly. Your recipe is simple, easy to follow and delicious. I made them yesterday, and the crust is still nice and crisp.
Yay! That is perfect! I am so glad that found the mini muffin trays. These are perfect for these tarts!
Absolutely great tart crust recipe. Does not get soggy even after a day with the filling
So glad you enjoyed these mini fruit tarts!
Very easy to make and delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Marie :)
These turned out adorable and everyone loved them. I had a little leftover lemon curd so I added a dollop of that too. So Yummy!
These are so fun to make for others. My whole family begs for them!
My fruit tarts came out great. Good recipe, although I was only able to make 8 tarts (perhaps my pan wasn’t as mini)
I will def make them again