Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A Trio of Miniature Fresh Berry Tarts


It's time for treats on Tuesdays with Dorie again. Each Tuesday, we whip up some fun in the kitchen with fabulous fare from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours." Buy the book, join in and bake along! You'll be making bakery fare at home and saving your pennies!


How fortunate that this week's treat was just the ticket for a fabulous Father's Day dessert. What economy! This berry tart was inspired by a Frenchie bakery's famous strawberry tart. Traditionally, the fresh uncooked berries are tucked into a full sized sweet crust and topped with creme fraiche. Since we are a piddly little family of four, I halved the recipe and baked three small tarts in 8 ounce ramekins. I also played around with the berries, since I happened to have not only strawberries, but also blueberries and blackberries on hand. I loved them all, but the one that made my heart pitter-patter was the blackberry. Making the crust is really a snap, especially since it requires no rolling, just a light handed patting of the crust into its buttered baking dish. Mine were ragged and rustic and good enough to eat plain. (I was picking at that blackberry one. I hoped you wouldn't notice.) If you still don't feel comfortable making pastry from scratch, simply press circles of refrigerated pie crust into your preferred size baking dish, brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar before baking. I won't tell, I promise.

Miniature Fresh Berry Tarts
Adapted From Dorie Greenspan
Estimated Cost: $4.00
Notes: Double this for enough to fit a 9 inch tart pan. You can make this in a food processor, but I did it by hand.
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, frozen, cut into small pieces
1 large cold egg yolk
about 3 tablespoons jam of your choice
about 2 cups berries of choice
granulated sugar
creme fraiche, whipped cream, or vanilla yogurt
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter (with a pie cutter or two butter knives) until mixture is mealy, and some pieces are the size of peas and others the size of oatmeal. Cut in the yolk and mix with a fork, gathering mixture up into ball. Press into 3 (8 ounces) buttered ramekins. Place in freezer until cold and solid, at least 30 minutes or up to a few days ahead. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter small squares of foil and press into pie dish to fit tightly onto crust. Bake for 15 minutes and remove foil. Bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
JUST BEFORE SERVING...
Brush inside of tarts with jam. Scoop in berries. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Top with creme fraiche, whipped cream or yogurt.
Coming Tomorrow:
Make Ahead-Horseradish Thyme Compote
(For the Grilled Rib-Eye)
and Cheesy Parmesan Bread

38 comments:

Marie Rayner said...

Your little tartlettes are perfect! I was thinking that blackberry would be lovely as well. I did stawberry (of course!) and then I did a mixed one with nectarines and raspberries which was my favourite! Well done you for making three!!

Anonymous said...

these look exceedingly yummy. I think my hubby would love me forever if I made these with some fresh huckleberries...

Gretchen Noelle said...

Glad to see you did them in the ramekins. I had that thought as I was eating one of mine.

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

Oh I just love the variety of fruits; very cute tarts.My vintage plate is indeed vintage - it's part of a teaset that my mother received as a wedding present from my aunt and uncle in the 30's!

PheMom said...

Very cute! I love all the berry choices! Thanks for stopping by my blog - when you get a chance you should check out our UT bloggers group - the badge and link is on my blog sidebar.

Anonymous said...

How fun to have a choice of fruits and use them all! They all look lovely...the blackberry one is very enticing...back to the kitchen I go....

Thanks for sharing ~ Kayte

Bumblebutton said...

Oooo those choices are fabulous! YUMMY!

Anne said...

I love the tartlettes and all the fruits sound delicious- way to go!

Anonymous said...

Those tartlets look so delicious!!! I wish I had used blackberries!

And I love, love, love your website design.

Hope the tri tip was delicious!

Liliana said...

Great idea to use different berries and I agree - great dessert for Father's Day!

NKP said...

First let me just say I love the music and your decor. Beautiful.
I like the idea of doing different types of berries in each tart.

kimberly salem said...

i love the way they look in the ramekins! the blackberries sound great, i'm definitely using them next time ;)

Mary Ann said...

I love your mini tarts! And what a great assortment of berries. Tasty!

Catherine Wilkinson said...

Just love these tarts, especially blackberry...my fave. Miniature is the way to go! Charming!

CB said...

Ramekins! what a great idea! I love rustic.
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Lynne Daley said...

Looks yummy with the different fruits.

Anonymous said...

I love the tartlets in ramekins! How cute they look! I think my family would love to have their very own tartlet! They look delicious! I can't wait to try these!

Sihan said...

trio of berries. Sigh. if only berries here were cheaper!

Pamela said...

Thanks for the comments on my blog. I have to say that I love your blog. I'm always up for cheap and delicious eats! The tarts look yummy, by the way!

Susie Homemaker said...

So many choices! You did a beautiful job once again!

Anonymous said...

It's versatility is one of the best things about this recipe. Loved all the variations.

Lauren said...

ramekins! fantastic idea! I've been wanting to make mini-tarts but really don't want to buy the pans. problem solved!! they all look delish!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I wish I'd thought of ramekins! The blackberry one looks sooooo good.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

they look so cute served in ramekins!!

Christine said...

Oh how delicious! The variety of fruits what a good choice!

Lori said...

the little tarts look great. I love blackberries but they are hard to find without spending a mini fortune.

Heather B said...

Absolutely delicious! I love the other berries! Great job!

Veronica said...

Your tarts look lovely! I just love berry anything.

Annemarie said...

I love them in mini form! I can't wait to try this with blackberries!

Anonymous said...

They look wonderful. Love the ramekin idea.

Shandy said...

I LOVE your music! How upbeat and sweet! First, thank you so much for the welcome on my first TWD.

Your little tartlettes are perfect and so inviting! I agree with the dessert being easy and the combinations seem endless =D

Anonymous said...

Nice job on the tartlettes! And, I LOVE your retro blog - the music, the layout, VERY hip! ;)

Michal said...

mmmmm. i want some of the blackberry. looks very yummy and like a simple recipe. thanks for sharing it. i really wish that i'd planted some boysenberries in my garden this year.:(

Anonymous said...

So cute! The ramekins were a great idea.

ostwestwind said...

Your tartletts look great, what a great variety of fruit.

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

I'm looking forward to trying this with blackberries, especially after your rave reviews!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Honeyed Hashette said...

Delicious!
Berries are so good right now! I cannot get enough of them.

Jaime said...

i love all your little tartlets! all the different berries look so tempting!