Homemade tartlet shells provide a wonderful vessel for a sweetened cream mixture topped with a fresh berry filling.
Fruit Tartlets with Lemon-Tarragon Syrup
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone cheese
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Tartlet Shells (recipe follows)
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- Lemon-Tarragon Syrup (recipe follows)
- Garnish: fresh mint sprigs
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat together mascarpone cheese, cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract until combined and smooth. Spread an even layer of mixture into each prepared Tartlet Shell.
- In a large bowl, gently toss together blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and Lemon-Tarragon Syrup. Divide fruit mixture among prepared Tartlet Shells. Serve immediately.
- Garnish with fresh mint sprigs, if desired.
Tartlet Shells
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups very cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water
Instructions
- Lightly spray 12 (3 ½-inch) tartlet pans* with baking spray with flour, and place on rimmed baking sheets.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugars, and salt until combined. Add cold butter all at once, pulsing until pea-size pieces of butter remain. Add 2 tablespoons ice-cold water, and pulse until mixture comes together and forms a ball.
- Divide dough into 2 portions. Wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is very firm but can be rolled out, at least 30 minutes.
- Working with one dough portion at a time, unwrap and place dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Using a 4 ½-inch round cutter, cut 6 rounds from each dough portion, rerolling scraps once. Being careful not to stretch out dough, center a dough round on top of each prepared tartlet pan. Lightly press dough rounds into bottoms of tartlet pans, and stand dough up against sides of pans. Using a rolling pin, roll over tops of tartlet pans to trim excess dough. Using the large end of a chopstick, press dough into indentations in sides of tartlet pans. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a large sheet of foil with cooking spray. Cut prepared foil into 12 (3-inch) squares. Place a square, spray side down, into center of each tartlet shell. Place pie weights or dried beans on top of each foil square.
- Bake tartlet shells for 10 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil. Using a fork, prick bottoms of tartlet shells. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let cool completely before carefully removing tartlets from pans.
Notes
*We used Gobel 3 1⁄2-inch nonstick tartlet pans. Measure diameter of pans across the bottom.
Lemon-Tarragon Syrup
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 7 lemon slices
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon stalks with leaves
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and 2 cups water just to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add lemon slices and tarragon, and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Strain syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Keep in a covered container, and refrigerate until needed.
