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 Valentine Berry Tarts | Status Approved | | Name |  Valentine Berry Tarts | | Category | Desserts, Holidays, Cakes & Pastries, American | | Serves/Yields | 6 tarts | | Source | Kate | | Difficulty | Moderate | | Prep. Time | 1 hour + | | Cook Time | refer to instructions | | Introduction | | I have recipes all over my computer and I'm trying to being them all together. This one I found by accident today, just in time for Valentine's Day. This is a nice way to say I love you to that special some one. The fruits can be varied to your taste and you can buy pre made glaze, but I think home made is much better. Clear vanilla can be found in party supply stores that sell Wilton cake decorating products. I entered this recipe as moderate but actually it's not that difficult and your not doing every thing at once. | | Ingredients | | Vanilla Pastry Cream for tarts
Makes about 3 cups
3 cups whole milk, divided
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs (2 whole eggs, 1 yolk)
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla (Clear vanilla provides best color in finished product)
Thickened Red Raspberry Puree
Makes 1 cup
2 cups whole frozen raspberries , (about 8 oz.) thawed
2 Tablespoons black raspberry liqueur
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Fruit glaze for tarts
Makes 1/2 cup
Combine for a simple glaze:
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jelly or jam, melted
1 Tablespoon black raspberry liqueur or water
Tart Shell pastry
Makes (6) 4” heart-shaped shells, 1” deep
2 ½ cups all purpose flour , unsifted
4-5 Tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoons salt
2 cubes, (1 cup) butter , well-chilled
About 4 Tablespoons orange juice (Water may be substituted)
Chocolate Pastry
For light chocolate pastry, replace 1/4 cup of flour with 1/4 cup of cocoa and use the higher amount of sugar . For darker chocolate crusts, replace 1/2 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of cocoa and use the higher amount of sugar .
| | Directions | | Step: 1 | Vanilla pastry Cream for tarts Directions
Using double boiler, heat 2 1/2 cups milk until steam rises from the surface. In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and sugar. Sift in cornstarch, and whisk until well blended. Add eggs, and whisk again until all is combined. Remove milk from heat, and gradually whisk in egg mixture. Return pan to top of double boiler and whisk constantly over medium heat until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer to bowl, press plastic wrap onto pastry cream surface, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
| | Step: 2 | Thickened red raspberry puree
Puree thawed berries in food processor or blender. Strain through a fine sieve to remove seeds. Place puree in small saucepan. Stir sugar and cornstarch together and add to puree, along with liqueur. Heat until thickened and glossy. Can be refrigerated for later use. (If puree is cold, it may be slightly too thick to create decorative hearts - microwave 30 to 40 seconds before use.) | | Step: 3 | Tart Shell pastry Directions
Combine first three ingredients in mixing bowl, and stir to blend. Slice each butter cube into 7-8 pieces. Using pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until all resembles coarse meal. Add orange juice (or water) by tablespoons, mixing gently with a fork just until dough begins to hold together in clumps. Gather pastry and divide into six 4 oz. disks. Wrap each disk in plastic. Chill for 30 minutes.
On lightly floured wax paper, roll each disk into a circle at least 6” in diameter, and slightly less than 1/8” thick. Transfer to tart pans and gently press dough into each one, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim the overhanging pastry dough by rolling over edges with a rolling pin, creating a finished look. Pierce the bottoms with a fork, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and freeze at least 30 minutes.* Pre-heat oven to 375°. Transfer tarts to another rimmed baking sheet which is at room temperature, line tarts with a light-weight aluminum foil or crumpled parchment, and fill with uncooked beans, rice or other pie weights. Bake while still frozen, on the lowest oven rack for 15 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil or parchment. Return tarts to oven and bake approximately 15 minutes more, until deep golden brown. Cool on wire rack. *Pastry may be frozen at this point for up to 2 months, if wrapped well.
Tart Assembly Directions
Begin assembly 1-2 hours before serving time. Each 4” heart-shaped tart will require approximately 1 cup frozen berries. This is equivalent to about 4 oz. frozen raspberries or 5 oz. frozen blackberries for each tart.
Spoon 3-4 tablespoons pastry cream into each pastry shell. Arrange evenly shaped frozen berries, stem-side down, over the pastry cream, starting around the outside edge and working towards the center. Raspberries should be arranged in two layers, while blackberries may be arranged in a single layer due to their larger size. (Ideas for berry combinations might include all raspberry, all blackberry, half raspberry and half blackberry.) Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just prior to serving, spoon glaze generously over berries. Garnish with your choice of orange zest, fresh mint leaf or kiwi. For red raspberry puree tartlets, spoon 5-6 Tablespoons puree into each pastry shell. Make decorative hearts by running a toothpick through droplets of vanilla cream you have strategically placed on puree surface. For vanilla cream tartlets, reverse this process, using red raspberry puree droplets on surface of the vanilla cream (This procedure is not time-consuming, but you may want to practice a few times on the surface of a plate to perfect your technique.) Chill until serving time. | | Nutrition Information | |
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Time submitted: Saturday, January 22. 2005 at 20:38:20 Contributed By: Kate
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