Mini Strawberry Tarts🍓
It’s berry season! Strawberries are at their peak, and these mini strawberry tarts are a cute little take on the classic Strawberry Tart. An indulgent bite or two of crisp, flaky pastry, creamy homemade custard and sweet, juicy strawberries. The perfect balance of tart and sweetness. These little gems are so easy to make, and I have a few cheat options to make them even easier! Perfect for parties and gatherings, these will be the dessert everyone is talking about😉
I have always been a fan of tarts and fruit flans, the kind you see in Patisserie windows looking so pretty. They can be hard to come by these days, so a day in the city is not complete without a trip to Brunetti for coffee and a strawberry tart. I love all the individual layers: the buttery texture of the pastry shell, the creamy crème pâtissière and the beautiful arrangement of fresh fruit on top. The prettiness comes from the beautiful jam glaze brushed over the berries, giving the tarts a wonderful shine.
As you will see by the photos, my tarts are very rustic, nothing fancy like the ones from Brunetti. Those of you who follow my blog know I am not about creating perfection or fancy Insta-worthy photos, but rather, it’s all about the flavours that come together to become something magical.
Mini Strawberry Tarts
Who doesn’t love a strawberry tart! Bursting with flavour from multiple layers of pastry, custard, fruit and apricot glaze, this will be a party for your tastebuds. The mini strawberry tarts are exactly that a miniature version that is perfect for serving a crowd, especially at a cocktail function. You will have ready- to-go individual servings that can easily be picked up. Mini strawberry tarts also stay fresher and look prettier because they are so quick to assemble, you can always put a tart together at the last minute.
The tarts can be made ahead of time by prepping the individual elements and then be assembled when your ready to serve them.
The miniature version is perfect for birthdays, high teas, gatherings or even grazing boxes.
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Strawberry Season
Summertime sings berries as the sunny days and cool nights allow them to thrive and release their natural sugars. Using good-quality strawberries for these tarts is key to achieving maximum flavour. You know you have high-quality berries when you can smell the wonderful aroma! They will be fragrant, sweet and juicy. If strawberries are not in season, you can top the tarts with mango, kiwi or even rhubarb
What you will need for mini strawberry tarts
- Mini shortcrust pastry cases (Stocked in most local supermarket’s in the frozen or baked goods section)
For the crème pâtissière
- Full cream milk for creaminess
- Caster sugar for sweetness
- Eggs
- Cornflour: this helps to thicken the custard
- Vanilla bean paste: I use Queen organic vanilla bean paste with seeds.
For the strawberries
- Strawberries hulled and halved
- Strawberry jam to glaze the top of the tart (apricot jam also pairs well)
How to make the crème pâtissière
Do not be fooled by the fancy name, crème pâtissière is basically a fancy name for custard. It’s also slightly thicker than custard and used to fill cakes and pastries such as profiteroles, cannoli and sponge cakes.
Custard can be served hot or cold, whilst crème pâtissière is served cold or at room temperature.
Crème pâtissière is also a lot richer in flavour than custard, adding extra depth to your tarts.
Cheats tips and tricks
Pastry Cases
For these mini strawberry tarts, I use store-bought mini pastry cases, which you can pick up at most Supermarkets in 12 or 24 pack portions. The frozen variety are great as you only need to take out and bake as many as you need and freeze the rest. This way, you can always have your freezer stocked for making these tarts on short notice. Trust me, once you see how easy these are to put together, they will become your new favourite dessert.
Pastry Cases
The recipe for the custard is a homemade crème pâtissière, which sounds very fancy, but is actually quite easy to make and so worth the effort. However, we are talking cheats tips here, so if you are short on time, you can definitely use a good quality store-bought custard thats ready to go. If you want the tarts to look more uniform, you can use a piper to pipe the custard into the pastry cases.
My hot tip is to allow the custard to cool completely before assembling your tarts, as this will prevent the pastry cases from going soggy. The strawberries will also hold better on cold custard.
Glaze
Lastly, the glaze, there’s nothing fancy here, I use store-bought strawberry or apricot jam and heat it in a small saucepan until simmering and syrupy.
And that, my friend, is your main elements sorted! The only thing left is to slice your strawberries. 🍓
Can you make the mini strawberry tarts ahead of time
You can definitely make these mini strawberry tarts ahead of time. The custard will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days for optimal freshness. I would personally hold off assembling the tart until your ready to serve to stop the pastry cases from going soggy.
I hope you enjoy this delicious strawberry tart! If you do go strawberry picking and It’s been raining over the weekend be sure to take some gumboots!
Fresh strawberries are always great for yoghurt and muesli breakfast cups for a healthy breakfast on the run.
Tools to make the job easier
Here are some other sweet recipes that you may like:
- One bowl Orange & poppyseed cake
- Daddy’s favourite Almond cake
- Easy gluten-free chocolate cake
- Healthy yoghurt pancakes with passionfruit and coconut
- Blueberry scones
Mini strawberry tarts
Ingredients
- 24 frozen pastry cases
- 400 g strawberries hulled and halved
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
- Small mint leaves for garnish Optional
For the creme Patissiere
- 500 ml full cream milk
- 80 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 30 g corn flour
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 30 g butter
Instructions
- Cook the pastry cases according to packet instructions and set aside to cool completely.
- Heat the jam in a small saucepan until simmering and syrupy. Set aside.
For the creme Patissiere
- Place the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs, cornflour and vanilla bean paste. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture, before returning it back to the saucepan. Simmer, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.Remove from heat, stir through butter and then cover with cling wrap to stop a layer forming on the top. Set aside until cooled.
To assemble the tarts
- Divide the custard between the pastry cases.
- Arrange the strawberries with the cut side facing down over the creme patisserie.
- Use a pastry brush to gently brush the jam over the strawberries to give it a beautiful sheen.
- Top with mint leaves if desired
