Tartlets Recipes

BERRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Using a 4-in. round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles, rerolling scraps as necessary. Press circles onto bottoms and up sides of ungreased muffin cups., Mix sugar and cornstarch; toss with berries and lemon juice. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling into each cup. Bake on a lower oven rack until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 24-26 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack; cool completely., For topping, beat cream until soft peaks form. In another bowl, mix lemon curd, sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon whipped cream; fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon over filling. If desired, top with fresh berries. Refrigerate until serving.

SAVORY TOMATO TARTLETS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Have ready six four-inch fluted tartlet pans with nonremovable bottoms. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the cheese into a large bowl. Set aside.
• Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Without rolling out the dough, cut out 4 circles. Transfer the circles to the prepared baking sheet. From the second sheet of puff pastry, cut out 2 more circles; transfer these to the baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic, and transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator to chill.
• Arrange the tartlet pans on a clean work surface. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into the bottom of each pan. Sprinkle half of the chopped herbs in an even layer over the oil. Arrange the dried tomatoes on top of the herbs, evenly covering the bottoms. Sprinkle with the reserved grated cheese and the remaining herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Center the rounds over the tomato filling in pans. Brush rounds with egg wash. Transfer tartlet pans to the freezer, and chill 15 minutes.
• Remove the tartlet pans from the freezer, and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack until pans are cool enough to handle.
• Using your fingers, gently unstick crusts from rims as needed. Turn out each tartlet onto a plate, tapping to loosen any tomatoes. Serve tartlets warm or at room temperature.

FRESH FRUIT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Line tartlet tins with the pastry (use boat-shaped tins if you have them). Bake blind in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. When cold, brush the inside of the tartlet cases with the melted chocolate and leave to harden.
• Mix together the cream cheese and double cream until very smooth, then add the sugar and vanilla essence. Fill the tartlet cases with the cream mixture and arrange the fruit on top. Brush with the apricot or red currant glaze, depending on the fruit used, and leave to set.
• Sift the flour and salt together and rub in the butter and lard until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the cheese, if using, and bind with a little cold water. Chill for 30 minutes and then roll out and use as above.