Mini Fruit Tarts

Delicious mini fruit tarts made with a buttery shortbread cookie crust, creamy vanilla custard and fresh fruit. The perfect bite-sized easy dessert for spring and summer!

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Ingredients Needed

You only need pantry basics plus fresh fruit. A few notes on the ones that matter most:

• Fresh blueberries and raspberries. My two favorites because they sit pretty on top without releasing juice. Strawberries, blackberries, kiwi, and mandarin oranges all work. Skip anything watery like watermelon or peaches.
• Cold unsalted butter. Non-negotiable for the crust. I stick mine in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes before I start. Warm butter makes a tough shell that shrinks in the pan.
• Powdered sugar in the crust. It dissolves into the dough and gives you that fine, sandy texture. Granulated won’t do the same thing.
• Whole milk for the custard. Lower fat works in a pinch, but whole gives you a creamier, richer set.
• Vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract. Paste gives you the pretty flecks and a deeper flavor. Extract is great too.
• Three egg yolks. They thicken the custard and give it that yellow color. Save the whites for meringue cookies.
• Cornstarch. This is what turns the custard from a thin sauce into a sliceable pastry cream. Whisk it in fully so you don’t get lumps.

How to Make Mini Fruit Tarts

1. Make and press the dough. Pulse the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until it looks like coarse meal, then add the cold water and pulse just until the dough clumps when you pinch it. Scoop about a tablespoon into each greased mini muffin cup and press into the bottom and partway up the sides. I use my thumb for the bottom and the back of a small spoon for the sides.
2. Bake the shells. Bake at 375°F for about 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before you move them, or they’ll crumble. Run a butter knife around each one and lift them out to a cooling rack.
3. Cook the custard. Bring the milk and vanilla to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale, then whisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Slowly stream about a quarter cup of the hot milk into the yolks while whisking constantly (this is the step people skip and then wonder why they have scrambled eggs). Whisk in the rest of the milk, pour everything back into the saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking the whole time, until it thickens and a slow boil bubbles up. The second you see that boil, pull it off the heat and stir in the butter.
4. Assemble. Spoon the cooled custard into the cooled shells and let them sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes to firm up. Top with fresh berries and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Tips for the Best Mini Fruit Tarts

• Spray the pan well. Hit every muffin cup with nonstick spray before pressing in the dough. The shells lift right out with a butter knife.
• Freeze the butter first. Cold butter is what gives shortbread that tender, sandy texture. I cube mine and stick it in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes before I start. Soft butter makes a tough, greasy shell.
• Whisk the custard constantly. Don’t walk away from the stove. The window between “perfectly thickened” and “scrambled eggs at the bottom of the pan” is about thirty seconds. Keep the whisk moving the whole time and pull it off the heat the second you see a slow boil bubble through.
• If it’s not thickening, turn up the heat. The cornstarch needs a slow boil to activate. Low heat will leave you stirring forever with a runny custard.
• Assemble close to serving time. These hold in the fridge for a few hours, but they’re at their absolute best in the first two or three. The crust slowly softens once the custard goes in, so if you’re serving for a party, fill them about an hour before guests arrive.

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.