Coconut Fruit Tarts Recipes

COCONUT TARTS WITH STRAWBERRY JAM

Steps:

• Add your flour, salt and icing sugar to your food processor and give it a whizz to combine evenly. Or you can mix it together in a large bowl.
• Dot over your grated butter and pulse for about 15 pulses until the mixture becomes sand like. Or rub in by hand.
• Add your egg yolk, vanilla extract and milk and pulse for about 10 pulses (lasting a second each) by which time the mixture should be starting to form some clumpy boulders of various sizes.
• Lightly flour your worksurface and tip your pastry mixture out.
• Bring the pastry gently together into a ball, knead literally just a 2-3 times to achieve this.
• Flatten the dough to a depth of about 1 inch, wrap in cling film (saran wrap) and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Whilst your dough is in your fridge make your coconut topping.
• Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/355°F/Gas mark 4.
• Place a large baking tray into your oven to heat.
• Using your pastry brush, grease your tart cases with butter, making sure you get into all of the crevices.
• Beat together your softened butter and caster sugar until it becomes a soft, spreadable paste and is a little lighter in colour. I tend to do this by hand using the spatula as there is so little to mix.
• Add your beaten eggs, milk and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and you can see a few air bubbles on the top.
• Sift in your flour, salt, baking powder and cornflour.
• Beat again until fully combined.
• Fold in your desiccated coconut until evenly mixed together.
• Divide your pastry dough up into 20 balls of 24 grams.
• Pop a dough ball into each tart case and press it down with your thumb. Then starting from the base begin to press the dough up the sides of the tart case. Moving around in circles so that the dough is kept at the same level and thickness. Try to press the dough very slightly above the edge of the tart case and then wipe it away, so that you have an even and smooth finish.
• Pop the tarts back into your refrigerator to set for 10 minutes, as the pastry will have become warm during the moulding process.
• Take ¾teaspoon of jam and add it to each tart.
• Take a heaped teaspoon of coconut filling and place on top of the jam base.
• Add half of a cherry to each tart, but do not press it into the topping otherwise it will sink.
• Place the tarts onto you pre-heated baking tray.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the coconut tarts and the pastry case edges are nicely browned.

COCONUT TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place frozen mini tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Beat the butter, sugar, egg, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract, mixing until fully combined. Stir in the coconut. Place 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each mini tart shell, and fill the shells with about 1 tablespoon of the coconut mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the shells and topping are lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

MANGO TART WITH COCONUT CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the flour and confectioners' sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn to low speed and add the 2 sticks of butter a few pats at a time. Once all the butter has been added, beat until the flour, sugar and butter begin to form a dough and it holds its shape when pressed together with your fingers. Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and gently knead and bring together to form a ball. Pat the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• Spray eight 4-inch fluted tart pans with removable bottoms with nonstick cooking spray. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a disc. Press the dough into each tart shell, using your fingers to press the dough up the sides of the tart shell. Trim any excess dough that overhangs from the top. Dock the dough with a fork. Place the tart shells into the fridge to chill for 5 minutes.
• Line the inside of the tart shells with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Transfer the shells into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and baking beans, then put back into the oven for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool before filling.
• To make the pastry cream, add the egg yolks, 4.4 ounces (125 grams) of the granulated sugar and the cornstarch to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the yolks are pale yellow and peaks begin to form, a few minutes. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula and beat again to ensure the ingredients are fully incorporated together.
• Add the coconut milk, salt and vanilla beans with the pod into a small saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and gradually, very little at a time, add the heated coconut milk into the whipped egg yolk mixture with the stand mixer on low speed. It's important to add it very gradually to temper the eggs so they will not scramble. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan that the coconut milk was heated in and turn the heat to medium-low. Whisking constantly, cook until the pastry cream has thickened and reaches the consistency of pudding, about 5 minutes. Transfer the thickened pastry cream back into the stand mixer bowl and whisk on medium speed. Add the remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 grams) butter one pat at a time. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes to cool it down. Spread the pastry cream onto a quarter sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap, pressing down onto the pastry cream itself to avoid a skin from forming on the top. Place into the fridge to chill for 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag and set aside.
• To make the glaze, set up an ice bath in a large bowl and set aside. Add the gelatin sheets to a bowl with some water to bloom for 5 to 10 minutes. Add 3.8 ounces (110 grams) of water and the remaining 3.8 ounces (110 grams) of granulated sugar to a small saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir to melt the sugar. Add the lemon juice, then the bloomed gelatin and stir over medium heat until melted. Transfer into a bowl and set over the ice bath.
• Arrange the mango slices in a line and fan out. Roll to create a rose. Fill each tart shell with pastry cream and top with a mango rose. Brush the glaze over the top of each mango tart. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

MANGO TART WITH COCONUT CRUST

Steps:

• Toast coconut for crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread coconut in an even layer in a pie plate and toast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (Leave oven on for baking crust.) Cool coconut to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Make crust:
• Pulse together flour, coconut, butter, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor until dough just begins to form a ball. Press dough onto bottom and up side of tart pan with floured fingers, then freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Bake in pan on a baking sheet in middle of oven until golden, about 25 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack.
• Prepare filling while crust bakes:
• Purée chopped mango (2 1/2 cups) with sugar, lime juice, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup purée in a heatproof bowl and let stand to soften 1 minute. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Remove bowl from heat and stir in remaining purée.
• Beat cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then fold in purée. Set bowl with filling in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and chill, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Assemble tart:
• Remove side of tart pan and spoon filling into crust, smoothing top. Chill, loosely covered, until filling is set, at least 8 hours. Before serving, let stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes but no longer than 30, then scatter diced mango over top of tart, leaving a 2-inch border around edge.

CARIBBEAN COCONUT TART

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry as directed: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and grated orange peel.
• With a pastry blender, cut in butter until fine particles form.
• Add 1 lightly beaten egg and stir with a fork until well blended; work with your hands until dough holds together in a ball. Divide into thirds.
• Set aside 1/3 of the pastry for lattice strips.
• On a lightly floured waxed paper, roll out the other 2/3 to a 12-inch circle. Use the paper to lift and gently turn pastry into a 10 1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom (or 10-inch pie pan).
• Shape to bottom and sides of pan; trim excess from top edge of tart pan (or away from rim of pie pan).
• Bake in a 325*F oven for 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, divide remaining pastry into 10 pieces; on a lightly floured board roll each into a 10 to 12 inch rope. Cover and refrigerate while mixing filling.
• Filling: In a bowl lightly beat the eggs, then stir in sugar, salt and flour. Add coconut, orange juice and melted butter; mix well. Pour into prepared crust.
• Criss-cross ropes of dough on top of filling. Trim and press ends to edges of pastry. Return to a 325* oven and bake until crust is golden brown and center is set, about 40 minutes.
• Warm the jelly or jam until melted and carefully brush it over top of hot tart. Cool completely, as long as 24 hours, then remove sides of pan and cut tart in wedges.

COCONUT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Place a shallow 23cm flan tin on a baking tray. Tip the spices, coconut and sugar into a pan with 150ml water and cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring frequently to ensure the mixture doesn't catch. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the flan tin. Trim off the excess pastry, fill the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans and cook for 15 mins. Remove the beans and cook for 5 mins more so the pastry on the base of the tin is just cooked, but not brown.
• Beat the egg and melted butter into the cooled coconut mixture, then spoon into the pastry case and smooth the top. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the coconut pale golden. Serve with cream or real vanilla ice cream and some Cape gooseberries, then follow with cups of black Rooibos tea.