Keyword: tarts

Cyclops S’mores Bites

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Cyclops S'mores Bites

Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? These spooky Cyclops S’mores Bites can’t help but stare at you. They’re a fun, easy-to-make Halloween treat. Mini graham cracker crusts are filled with a sweet, silky chocolate filling and topped with monster eyeball marshmallows.

Cyclops S'mores Bites

Silky chocolate filling in a graham cracker crust, topped with spooky monster eyeball marshmallows
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 24 bite size mini tarts

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¼ cups (124g) graham cracker crumbs (about 8 rectangular sheets or 16 squares)
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (7g) all purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) melted (salted) butter
  • 1 cup (237ml) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 24 monster eyeball marshmallows

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a 24-serving muffin pan** with mini cupcake liners.***
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and flour until well combined. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly coated and the mixture looks like wet sand.
  • Evenly distribute the crumb mixture into the muffin cups. Press the crumbs firmly into the bottoms and up the sides of the muffin cups, using a pastry tamper, the flat bottom of a small shot glass or a 1/8 cup measuring cup. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a medium-size microwavable bowl, heat the sweetened condensed milk and the chocolate chips together in the microwave for 20 second burst, stirring in between each burst, until melted and smooth. (Alternately, you can melt the mixture in a medium-size saucepan over low heat.)
  • Working quickly, fill the graham cracker crusts almost to the top with the melted chocolate mixture using a small scoop or a piping bag. Carefully remove the chocolate-filled crusts from the muffin pan and top each one with a monster eyeball marshmallow. Enjoy as is or place a few at a time on a microwave safe plate and heat them in the microwave for 7-10 seconds for a gooey eyeball treat.

Notes

*Marshmallow eyeballs are sold at Walmart and World Market.
**To find the muffin pan I used, click here.  
***To find mini muffin liners, click here.
Keyword Halloween, s'mores bites, tarts

Creamy Lemon Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Creamy Lemon Tarts

One of the reasons I love baking is because of the joy it brings. In this case it’s joy and sunshine. These vibrant, lemon tarts are pure sunshine. With only four ingredients, they’re so easy to make that you’ll be surprised at how silky and delicious they are.

Creamy Lemon Tarts

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 6 tarts

Ingredients
  

  • 22 vanilla sandwich cookies, finely crushed (including the filling) I used Golden Oreos.
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 ½ cups (12 oz or 340g) mascarpone cheese, softened
  • 1 cup (10 oz or 283g) lemon curd, homemade or store bought
  • whipped cream optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place six 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  • In a medium bowl, mix crushed cookies with melted butter until well combined.
  • Press crumb mixture firmly into tart pans with the back of a spoon or the bottom of a small cup. It's important to press firmly, especially on the sides.
  • Bake tart shells for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
  • In a medium bowl, stir mascarpone cheese with a spatula until smooth. Fold in lemon curd until well combined.
  • Fill cooled tart shells with mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate tarts until set, about 2 hours.
  • Carefully remove tarts from tart pans. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Notes

To find 4-inch tart pans, click here.
Keyword lemon, tarts

Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts

These Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts have three individual components, which, when combined together, are absolutely delicious. I experimented with each separate component of this recipe until I perfected them individually. The tart crust is flaky and tender, yet sturdy enough to hold the filling. The filling is just sweet enough for my sweet tooth and the whipped cream has just enough Earl Grey flavor.

This recipe makes enough whipped cream to cover the entire tops of the tarts or you can be like me and try to be artistic and avant-garde with your whipped cream. To make the Earl Grey infused whipped cream, use your favorite Earl Grey tea, whether it’s loose leaf tea or a teabag. We don’t discriminate here. All forms of tea are welcome! I do have a favorite Earl Grey tea. If you want to check it out, click here. The tea will make your whipped cream a dull pale yellow. This issue is purely aesthetic. I added a tiny bit of violet gel food color which brightens the whipped cream. You can add more if you want a lavender shade.

 

Blueberry Earl Grey Tarts

Mari Vasseur
Personal-sized tarts with sweet blueberry filling, topped with Earl Grey whipped cream
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 6 4-inch tarts

Ingredients
  

Tart Crust

  • 1 ½ cups (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (30g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (113g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) ice water

Blueberry Filling

  • 4 cups (about 565-600g) blueberries
  • â…” cup (132g) sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons (12g) corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice

Earl Grey Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup (237ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 teaspoons Earl Grey tea leaves or 1 tea bag
  • 2 tablespoons (15g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 small drop violet gel food coloring

Instructions
 

Tart Crust

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt until well blended. Work in the butter and egg yolk, with a pastry blender or with your fingertips, until pea sized pieces are formed. Add ice water one tablespoon (15ml) at a time until the dough comes together.
  • Form the dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to overnight.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough into six 5-inch rounds.
  • Press the rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans. Dock the bottoms of the tart crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Place the tart pans on a large baking sheet. Line the tart shells with 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights.)
  • Bake the tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until the tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.

Blueberry Filling

  • Set aside 1 cup (155g) blueberries. Combine the remaining 3 cups blueberries, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice in a medium-sized saucepan.
  • Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries are softened and sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved 1 cup of blueberries during the last minute of cooking. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Earl Grey Whipped Cream

  • Combine the heavy cream and tea leaves or tea bag in a small saucepan. Heat just until bubbles form around the edges.
  • Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Pass the cream through a sieve to strain the out tea leaves or remove the tea bag. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill.
  • Transfer the chilled cream to a large bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until thickened. Add the powdered sugar and food color in separate additions and continue whipping at high speed just until stiff peaks begin to form.
Keyword blueberries, tarts

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Does anyone else remember those old peanut butter cup commercials where two people on the street would collide and a chocolate bar would miraculously end up inside of a jar of peanut butter? Then the person carrying the open jar of peanut butter would say, “Hey you got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and they would suddenly discover it’s a delicious combination. The real question is, why was anyone walking around outside with an open jar of peanut butter? I miss those silly commercials.

If you love chocolate and peanut butter together, you’ll absolutely love these tarts. The creamy peanut butter filling and the silky chocolate ganache topping are perfect together. The chocolate cookie crust adds a nice crunch. I used heart shaped tart pans to make the tarts a little more special for Valentine’s Day. To find the tart pans I used, click here. You can also use round tart pans if you prefer.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tarts

Mari Vasseur
Personal peanut butter tarts with chocolate cookie crusts and chocolate ganache topping
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 4 tarts

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 14 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed including filling
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • ½ cup (128g) creamy peanut butter, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream, room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Pinch fine sea salt

Topping

  • 3 ounces (85g) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (88ml) heavy cream
  • Chopped peanuts optional
  • Mini peanut butter cups optional

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. (180ºC). Place four 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms* on a baking sheet.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix the crushed sandwich cookies with the melted butter until well combined. Press the crumb mixture into the tart pans.
  • Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Filling

  • In a medium-sized bowl, beat the peanut butter and softened butter until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and beat until smooth and well blended.
  • Fill the cooled tart shells with the filling. Refrigerate the tarts until set, at least 2 hours.

Topping

  • Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl.
  • In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat just until bubbles form around the edges. Do not boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit two minutes then stir until smooth.
  • Spoon over the peanut butter filling. Add toppings if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Carefully remove tarts from pans.

Notes

To find the tart pans I used, click here.
Keyword chocolate peanut butter, tarts

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Strawberries & Cream Tarts

May is when I get to pull out all of my summery recipes. These pretty little Strawberries & Cream Tarts remind me of a summer day. The kind of day when you’re outside enjoying the sunshine and you’re craving a cool, refreshing dessert. This strawberry cream filling alone is so delicious that I could just eat the entire bowl with a spoon. But since I’m extra, I had to create an aesthetic dessert with it.

I used my favorite tart shells for this recipe, but this would also be delicious with those little pre-made graham cracker pie crusts if you want to take a shortcut. The reason I love this tart crust recipe so much though, is that it actually tastes delicious. Once, a few years ago, I purchased a beautiful, small fruit tart from a famous bakery. The fruit was vibrant and glistening and the pastry cream filling was sweet and silky. Now we need the sound of a mic drop, because the tart crust was hard and flavorless, like cardboard! Ever since then, I knew I would settle for nothing less than a delicious tart crust.

Strawberries & Cream Tarts

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 6 4-inch tarts

Ingredients
  

Tart Crust

  • 1 ½ cups (6.75 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoons ice water

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • 2 cups (16 ounces) strawberry puree Plus more for garnish
  • ½ cup (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin powder
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) cold heavy whipping cream

Instructions
 

Tart Crust

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
  • Work in butter and egg yolk with a pastry blender or with your fingers, until pea size pieces are formed.
  • Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together.
  • Form dough into a disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness
  • Cut dough into six 5-inch rounds. Press rounds into six 4-inch or 4 1/4-inch tart pans.*
  • Dock the bottoms of pie crusts with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  • Heat oven to 375ºF. Place tart pans on a large baking sheet.
  • Line tart shells with six 6-inch parchment rounds. Fill with pie weights. (You can use dried beans or rice if you don't have pie weights.)
  • Bake tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until tart shells are light golden brown, about 4-6 more minutes.
  • Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Cream Filling

  • Pass the strawberry purée through a mesh sieve to remove large seeds.
  • In a medium saucepan, simmer the strawberry purée until it's reduced by half. Stir in the sugar and continue cooking over medium heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Meanwhile, place 3 tablespoons of water into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin powder over the top of water. Let sit until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour the gelatin mixture into the warm strawberry reduction mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
  • Add extracts and beat until combined.
  • Add the strawberry reduction mixture to the cream cheese a little at time. Beat until well combined.
  • In a medium bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form.
  • Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture.
  • Spoon into cooled tart shells. Smooth tops with a small offset spatula. Refrigerate for two hours. Garnish with sliced, fresh strawberries.

Notes

*To find the tart pans I used, click here.
Keyword strawberry, tarts