The Mini Pies or fruit tartlets are delightful pastries as good as bakery miniatures that can be easily prepared at home. These baskets made with shortcrust pastry, custard and fresh fruit are the single-serving version of the classic fruit tart, small treasure chests filled with goodness so beautiful and at the same time so simple to prepare at home! Their appearance might be misleading, but making these tartlets is not impossible at all. Just use tartlet or mini pie molds and bake them using blind baking, a technique that keeps the pastry from puffing up during baking and helps it maintain its shape. The custard is prepared in a few minutes and becomes the perfect base for the fruit: strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, but also raspberries, peaches, pineapple, blackberries, red currants!
The preparation is very simple: line the molds with the shortcrust pastry and, to prevent them from puffing up during baking, prick them with a fork, place a piece of parchment paper and some dry legumes on each, and bake for 15 minutes at 356°F. Remove the paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes. Once cooled, fill them with custard and fresh fruit.
Perfect for any occasion, as a dessert after a Sunday lunch or for other special events, these fruit tartlets are fresh and delicious. You can fill them with other types of cream like the paradise cream simple or with pistachio, and you can prepare them in all seasons using any fruit you want! Try them!
Also discover:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons, Spring, Summer
- Energy 417.48 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 59.28 (g) of which sugars 29.64 (g)
- Proteins 7.00 (g)
- Fat 18.16 (g) of which saturated 11.37 (g)of which unsaturated 6.55 (g)
- Fibers 1.37 (g)
- Sodium 20.34 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 30 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to prepare the Mini Pies or fruit tartlets
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5.3 oz butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg (large)
- lemon zest
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 pod vanilla
- strawberries
- blueberries
- kiwi
Tools to prepare the Fruit Tartlets or Mini Pies
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Pastry board
- 1 Rolling pin
- 8 Tartlet molds
- Parchment paper
- 1 Oven
- 1 Pot
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Piping bag
- 1 Plain nozzle
How to make the Fruit Tartlets or Mini Pies
To prepare the Mini Pies or fruit tartlets, start with the shortcrust pastry: cut the butter into cubes, then add it to the sugar and grated lemon zest. Mix it with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until you obtain a homogeneous cream (you can also mix by hand in a bowl). Add the egg and continue to mix to incorporate it perfectly into the butter. Finally, add the flour and work the dough until it takes on the consistency of shortcrust pastry. Form a rectangular dough block, wrap it in plastic wrap, and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
For the custard, pour the milk into a small pot with lemon peels or the seeds of a vanilla pod. Heat it until it nearly boils.
In a separate pot, mix the eggs with the sugar using a whisk, then add the cornstarch and stir until there are no more lumps.
Remove the lemon peels from the milk and gradually pour it into the egg mixture, stirring continuously. Transfer the pot to the stove and cook the custard until it starts to thicken. Pour it into a baking dish and cover it with plastic wrap in contact with the surface. Let it cool.
Retrieve the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, work it quickly until it becomes elastic again. Roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface.
With a pastry cutter slightly larger than the molds you will use (e.g., 10 cm for 8 cm molds), cut out discs (we made 4 larger tartlets and 5 smaller ones). Prick the bottom with a fork, cover them with small sheets of parchment paper, and cover them with baking weights or dry beans. Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and beans and continue baking for another 5 minutes or until golden.
Let them cool and fill them with fresh seasonal fruit like strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi, or alternatively cherries, peaches, raspberries, red currants, etc.
The Mini Pies or Fruit Tartlets are ready to be enjoyed!
Simo and Cicci recommend
You can store the Fruit Tartlets in the fridge for 2-3 days, but it would be preferable to add the fruit right before serving them. Alternatively, you can lightly brush the fruit with gelatin.
Both the shortcrust pastry and the already baked baskets, as well as the custard, can be prepared a day in advance.
