A fresh raspberry reduction transforms pastry cream into a zingy and refreshing filling for these fresh raspberry tarts. They’re perfect for an afternoon tea or any gathering where you’d like to serve delicious bite sized treats.
I love making pastry dough for a few reasons. Yes, it’s easy and delicious BUT the BEST PART is making more than you need! That just means you’ll have another batch in the fridge… ready to go at a moment’s notice!
Steps to Make pastry Dough
- Start off by adding the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Give it a few pulses before adding the butter.
- Cut the COLD butter up into tablespoon sized pieces and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse a few times until the butter is in pea-sized clumps. In a small bowl mix together the ice water and vodka. Drizzle the mixture into the processor while pulsing. If you can squeeze the dough into a clump that stays together it’s done. If not, add in another tablespoon of ice water. P.S. The vodka will bake off so don’t worry about adding it in!
- Transfer the dough onto a pastry mat or another floured surface and knead 2 to 3 times just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten the dough into a one-inch thick disk and cover it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag, then place it in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes to an hour.
How to Make the Custard Filling
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean by bringing it to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat then set it aside to infuse for 15 minutes.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks into a separate bowls. Don’t throw out those egg whites, you can use them to make many tasty things! Put the yolks into a larger bowl
- Pour in 2/3 cup sugar in with the egg yolks and whisk them together until it’s a light and fluffy mixture.
- Now add the cornstarch and mix vigorously. You don’t want any lumps remaining! You can also sift it into the bowl to help prevent those lumps.
- Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until it is incorporated then mix the remaining hot milk mixture in. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking continuously until thickened and slowly boiling. Now go ahead and remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
- Let it cool slightly then pour it into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill it for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. Stir in the raspberry reduction and set aside.
Steps to Make the Raspberry Tarts
- Cut the circles of dough out and press them in the pan. This one is a discontinued set from Chicago Metallic but Williams-Sonoma sells a very similar set.
- Dock then add parchment paper and dry beans or pie weights to each tart and bake.
- Add the raspberry cream to each tart.
- Add three raspberries to each tart and finish with a few drops of the raspberry reduction and a dusting of powdered sugar.
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Pro Tips for making these raspberry tarts
- If your dough looks crumbly after adding the water then place a spoonful in the palm of your hand and squeeze together. if it forms into a clump then it’s fine! If it’s still a crumbly mess add a few more tablespoons of ice water.
- Don’t skimp on the chill time! This is when your dough will rest and come together.
- When rolling out the dough make sure to move it around frequently and add more flour to the work surface and to
- You can use strawberries in these tarts in place of raspberries.
If you’ve tried this raspberry tart recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Raspberry Tarts
Delicious little raspberry tarts have a crisp homemade butter crust filled with raspberry infused pastry cream topped with fresh berries a raspberry reduction.
Servings 24 Tarts
Calories 360kcal
Ingredients
Custard:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean split lengthwise
- 6 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbs cold unsalted butter
Pastry:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 300g
- 3 tbsp water ice cold 45mL
- 2 tbsp vodka
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold, cubed 226g
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sugar 50g
Raspberry Sauce:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 6 oz raspberries
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
For the Assembly:
- 1 tbsp Confectioner's sugar for dusting
- 72 raspberries
Instructions
For the Pastry Dough
- Add the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Give it a few pulses before adding the butter.
- Cut the COLD butter up into tablespoon sized pieces and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse a few times until the butter is in pea-sized clumps. In a small bowl mix together the ice water and vodka. Drizzle the mixture into the processor while pulsing. If you can squeeze the dough into a clump that stays together it's done. If not, add in another tablespoon of ice water. P.S. The vodka will bake off so don't worry about adding it in!
- Transfer the dough onto a pastry mat or another floured surface and knead 2 to 3 times just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten the dough into a one-inch thick disk and cover it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag, then place it in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Roll the chilled pastry dough out on a well-floured surface. My tart forms came with this great cutting tool for that cute rilled edge but rougher circles will work just as well.
- A also use this little stamp to press the dough down but fingers would work just as well.
- Pierce the shells with a fork a couple of times to let steam out and weight down with beans over some parchment paper.
- Bake at 425F until golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. I removed the tarts and let them cool on a cloth.
For the Reduction
- Add the raspberries, water, lemon juice, and sugar to a small pot over medium heat. muddle and mix a bit. Once it starts to bubble reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce by about half.
For the Custard
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean by bringing it to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat then set it aside to infuse for 15 minutes.
- Separate the egg whites and yolks into a separate bowls. Don’t throw out those egg whites, you can use them to make many tasty things! Put the yolks into a larger bowl.
- Pour in 2/3 cup sugar in with the egg yolks and whisk them together until it’s a light and fluffy mixture.Now add the cornstarch and mix vigorously. You don’t want any lumps remaining! You can also sift it into the bowl to help prevent those lumps.
- Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until it is incorporated then mix the remaining hot milk mixture in. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking continuously until thickened and slowly boiling. Now go ahead and remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
- Let it cool slightly then pour it into a bowl, mix in the raspberry reduction and set aside.
For the Assembly
- I filled the shells with my leftover strawberry custard. A dollop of whipped cream would work well as long as you don't plan on storing them very long.
- I placed three raspberries on each tart and then added a few drops of the strawberry sauce I made between each berry.
- You could use some thinned out jam instead if you want to save time.
- Dust with some confectioner's sugar for garnish and you're done!
Notes
- If your dough looks crumbly after adding the water then place a spoonful in the palm of your hand and squeeze together. if it forms into a clump then it’s fine! If it’s still a crumbly mess add a few more tablespoons of ice water.
- Don’t skimp on the chill time! This is when your dough will rest and come together.
- Give the egg wash a thorough mix for a nice even golden crust. globs of egg whites will mar the look and texture.
- When rolling out the dough make sure to move it around frequently and add more flour to the work surface and top.
Nutrition
Serving: 111g | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 70mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 400IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.1mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
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John, would the pate sucree recipe, used for the rose apple tarts, be ok for this as well? Too sweet? It was wonderful to work with and no blind baking….