Tag: strawberry tarts

Happy Jam Tarts

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Happy Jam Tarts

We’ve all needed a little cheering up at times, especially this past past year. These cute, happy tarts won’t take your problems away, but they can certainly make you smile, especially if you make them for someone else. They’re super easy to make and they taste better than the ones in the box we ate as kids. You can use store bought pie dough if you want to streamline the process. Any flavor of jam or preserves you have on hand works too!

Feel free to have fun decorating these little cuties. The possibilities are endless. You can use edible glitter, purchased candy eyes or even add mustaches. Happy baking!

Happy Jam Tarts

Jam-filled tarts with icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 8 tarts

Ingredients
  

Jam Tarts

  • 2 9-inch pie crusts, store bought or homemade
  • 1 cup strawberry jam or preserves or any flavor of your choice
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk or water

Icing

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • gel food color * I used Wilton Rose gel food color
  • ½ teaspoon meringue powder ** optional but helps icing to set

Decorations

  • sprinkles
  • black fondant
  • blue fondant or any color of your choice

Instructions
 

Jam Tarts

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Roll pie dough onto lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 6-inch by 4-inch rectangles, re-rolling dough as necessary.
  • Make egg wash by beating egg together with milk in a small bowl.
  • Spread 2 tablespoons of jam onto right half of each rectangle to within 1/2-inch of edges. Brush edges with egg wash.
  • Fold dough in half, left side over right. Seal edges by pressing with a fork
  • Poke several holes in the top of each tart with a toothpick.
  • Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Icing

  • In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt together until smooth.
  • Using a toothpick, add food color a little at a time until desired shade is achieved.
  • Stir in meringue powder, if using.
  • Spoon icing onto tarts.
  • Add sprinkles while icing is wet. When icing has set, add eyes, mouths and bows if desired.

Decorations

  • For the eyes, make 16 1/8-inch balls of black fondant. Flatten slightly. Adhere with a bit of water.
  • For the mouths, make 8 1/2-inch long, very thin strips of black fondant. Adhere with a tiny bit of water, using tweezers if necessary.
  • For the bows, roll out blue fondant to 1/16th-inch thickness. Cut out bows using ***bow cutter. Adhere with a bit of water.

Notes

*To find Wilton Rose gel food color, click here
**To find meringue powder, click here
***To find bow cutter, click here

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