The Adventures of Princess Cupcake: Mini Fruit Tarts Baked in Muffin/Cupcake Tins

Hello everyone!

Today is Wednesday, which I learned is traditionally called "Hump Day." I find that amusing for some reason. If you are not amused, I understand. I've discovered that not everyone shares my amazing sense of humor. For example, funnily-shaped bananas make me laugh. You know those bananas that aren't curvy? But are super duper straight? YEAH THOSE THINGS ARE THE BEST... And probably the reason why people in the dining hall give me strange looks and avoid me. I mean, a girl giggling hysterically while staring at the fruit stand is probably not gonna make very many friends, y'know what I mean?

I think I've made you feel vaguely uncomfortable at this point. But fear not, dear readers! There was an actual reason for my reminiscing about fruit...

Today, I will teach you how to make the most delicious fruit tarts of your life!!

I got the recipe from Joy of Baking, but adapted the proportions and amounts so that I could bake the tarts in muffin tins. I LOVE the idea of miniature desserts (which explains why my name is Princess Cupcake...)! I know there seems to be a lot of steps, but all of them are very simple and the results are definitely worth it!

Mini Fruit Tarts

Makes approximately 18 tarts

Shortbread/Cookie Tart Crust:

2 Cups all-purpose flour

3/4 Cup salted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 Cup white sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Place the butter in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until it is softened. Add the sugar to the butter, and continue beating until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs to the mixture, and beat it until it is just incorporated. Dump in all of the flour at once, and beat it until it just starts to form a dough. Using your hand, pat the dough into one large round. Break the round in half, and wrap each half in plastic/saran wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 15 - 30 minutes so that it will be easier to work with.

Once you are ready to make crust, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line your muffin tins with paper muffin liners.Then, prepare a flat surface by lining it with wax paper and generously dusting it with flour. Make sure your hands and rolling pin are covered with flour as well, as the dough will be quite sticky. Remove one dough round from the refrigerator, reserving the other one in the fridge until you are ready to work with it. Roll out dough with your rolling pin until it is 1/8 inch thick.Using a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Press each crust-round into the muffin tin liner (keeping the liner in the cup), and use your fingers to flatten and crimp the dough until the crust reaches up about 3/4 of the way up the liner. Using a fork, lightly prick the bottom of each crust to prevent it from puffing up in the oven.

Once you have finished making all of the crusts, place muffin tins in oven for approximately 12-15 minutes. They should be a light golden color when completely baked. Allow crusts to cool in the tins. Carefully remove the crusts when finished cooling. They should look like this:

Pastry Cream:

3/4 Cup milk (either whole or 2% or fine. I do NOT recommend using milk that has a lower fat content than this. Nondairy milk does not work well either.)

2 large egg yolks

1/8 Cup white sugar

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

*Optional: 1 tsp liquor

In a medium heat-proof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Sift the flour and cornstarch together and add to the egg mixture, mixing until the texture becomes a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the milk and vanilla extract just to boiling (just until milk starts to foam up.) Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Then pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes thick. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the vanilla and the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool to room temperature. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat or whisk before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

When making the pastry cream, it is useful to refer to this video for visual cues:

Fruit Topping:

1 1/2 Cup fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, melon, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, peaches, etc.)

Wash your fruit, and if necessary, slice into small pieces (1/2 inch cubes are fine) so that they will fit in your tarts.

Homemade whipped cream (Garnish):

3/4 Cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 Cup sugar

Constructing the fruit tarts:

Put about two tablespoons of pastry cream in each tart shell. Top with fruit. Garnish each fruit tart with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately!