Last Updated on 12/06/2024 by Adina
These delightful mini fruit tarts or tartlets are made with cream cheese filling and lots of berries. A very easy-to-make dessert, perfect for any kind of celebration.
These miniature tarts are too good (and pretty) to be true!
Berries of choice and a creamy, wonderful cream cheese filling. Fresh and fruity, if it wasn't for the pie shells that hold everything together, you wouldn't even know that you were eating cake.
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How to make mini fruit tarts?
Making pastry for tarts might seem like a difficult task, but it really isn't. Especially if you have a food processor, which makes the whole affair a joke. A kitchen scale is pretty important too; it will make sure that everything goes well.
Actually a super easy recipe, a tart shell recipe I use most of the time. You can fill the shells not only with this delicious cream cheese and fruit filling, but also make white chocolate raspberry tartlets, blueberry tarts, lemon curd tarts, mincemeat pies, or any kind of mini-tarts or pies you like.
You can use the same recipe to make one pie shell for a regular-sized pie as well.
- Roll the pastry, place it in a pie tin, and bake blind for about 20 -25 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the beans and the paper and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes if the shell doesn't have the right color yet. Let cool and fill.
Tart shells
- When you add the butter to the rest of the ingredients, make sure it is very cold. You can even chop it into small pieces. Place the pieces on a plate and put the plate in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Place the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the food processor and pulse to mix.
- Add the very cold cubed butter and process until the mixture is crumbly. There should still be some small butter pieces visible.
- Add the yolk and the water and mix shortly until the dough comes together.
- Turn the pastry onto the working surface and knead lightly for just a few seconds to form a smooth disc. Divide the pastry into two portions, wrap each portion in plastic foil, and refrigerate until needed.
If you make the pastry without the food processor:
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and cut the butter into the flour with a knife or mix with your fingertips.
- Add the yolk and the water and mix shortly until the dough comes together.
- Your hands should be cold when handling the pastry and you should only use the fingertips and not the palms of your hands.
- To make sure that the hands are cold, hold them under cold water and dry them.
Filling
- Mix the cream cheese with a whisk to loosen it up.
- Add crème fraiche, vanilla, and icing sugar and whisk until the cream thickens again.
- Fill the cases with the cream and arrange the berries on top.
- Dust with icing sugar if you wish.
Can I use bought pastry?
- Of course, you can use bought sweet pastry. Roll and bake as instructed.
- You can also use ready-made pastry shells as well.
Can I make the tartlets in advance?
- First of all, you can make the pastry in advance and refrigerate it for up to one week or freeze it for up to one month. I had it frozen for longer as well, it was still great.
- And you can definitely make the tart shells one day in advance. Let them cool and keep them at room temperature until ready to fill.
- The filling can be mixed a few hours in advance. Keep it in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- You should only fill the tartlets with the filling and top with the berries shortly before serving, up to 3-4 hours would be fine.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
The recipe was adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's book “The Cookbook” (the Amazon link opens in a new tab). He used mascarpone instead of cream cheese, but I prefer cream cheese; it tastes lighter and fresher.
Mini Fruit Tarts
Delightful mini fruit tarts with cream cheese filling and berries. A beautiful, easy-to-make dessert, perfect for any kind of celebration.
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Servings: 12 mini tarts
Calories: 290kcal
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- Food processor
- Dried beans for blind baking
Ingredients
Tart shells:
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour 165 g/ 6 oz
- ½ cup icing sugar 50 g
- ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp unsalted butter cold, 90 g/ 3 oz
- a small egg yolk
- ½ to 1 tablespoon cold water
Filling:
- 1 cup cream cheese 220 g/ 8 oz
- 1 cup crème fraiche 220 g/ 8 oz
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup icing sugar + extra for dusting, 50 g
- 10.5 oz berries of choice, 300 g
Instructions
Tart shells:
- Dough: Place the flour, icing sugar, lemon zest, salt, and butter in the food processor and process until you get a coarse mixture that resembles breadcrumbs; you should still have some small butter pieces visible.Add the yolk and the ½ tablespoon water and mix shortly until the dough comes together. Only add more water if necessary; the pastry should hold together when you pinch it.1⅓ cup all-purpose flour/ 165 g + ½ cup icing sugar/ 50 g + ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest + pinch of salt + ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter/ 90 ga small egg yolk + ½ to 1 tablespoon cold water
- Refrigerate: Turn the pastry onto the working surface and knead lightly to form a smooth disc for just a few seconds to form a smooth disc. Divide the pastry into two portions, wrap each piece in plastic foil, and refrigerate until needed. It will keep for a week in the fridge and a month in the freezer.Brush the muffin tin with melted butter, place it in the fridge, and leave to set for about 30 minutes.
- Roll: Dust the working surface with very little flour. Take one portion of the wrapped pastry out of the fridge and divide it into 6 portions. Form 6 small balls and roll each one into a circle, about 2-3 mm thick and large enough to cover the bottom and the walls of the muffin tin. Repeat with the second portion of pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/ 150°C. Line each pastry shell with a paper muffin case, fill with dry beans or rice, and bake blind for about 25 minutes. Remove the beans/rice and the paper. The cases should be golden-brown. If they are not so yet, bake for another 5 to 10 minutes without beans and paper.
- Cool: Let the shells cool slightly but remove them from the muffin tin while still warm; they will slide out of the form. Place on a wire rack to cool completely, then fill.
Filling:
- Mix the cream cheese with a whisk to loosen it up. Add the crème Fraiche, vanilla extract, and icing sugar and whisk until the cream thickens again.1 cup cream cheese/ 220 g + 1 cup crème fraiche/ 220 g + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract + ½ cup icing sugar / 50 g
- Fill the cases with the cream and arrange the berries on top. Dust with icing sugar if you wish.10.5 oz berries / 300 g
Notes
Always use a kitchen scale when baking, cup measuring is not very precise.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tart | Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g
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Rana says
Hi there, which berries did you use in your photo? The small red ones in particular - they came out beautifully!
Adina says
Hi Rana. The small red ones are red currants, they are in season right now. The other ones I used in the pictures are raspberries and blackberries. But you can use any berries you like.