Fresh Fruit Custard Tarts

Photos by Me

These tarts are so cute to look at and yummy to eat. 

They are very girly and I promise your girlfriends will love them. Although I am yet to meet a man who wont happily tuck in!

They really give you a chance to be a bit creative, so it can be fun to make them with a friend and see how different they end up.

Also this is a recipe for a beginner and a more advanced cook. You can either make the whole thing from scratch or follow my easy cheats - which mean you only really have to cut fruit!

Fresh Fruit and Custart Tarts

• One Packet of Sweet Shortcrust pastry (or use the Julia Child Recpie or this one)
• One Pot of Creme Patissiere or Custard if you can't buy it (or you can make it like this)
• Fruit puree (again you can buy this from good supermarkets or make it in a blender with a mix of the fruits below, make sure to sieve the mix so it is nice and smooth)
• A selection of fresh Fruit - I have used... Blackberries, Dragn Fruit, Mango, Strawberries, passionFruit, Fig and Physalis fruit

1. Preheat your oven to 200^oC.
2. Roll out your pastry to fit your tin, keeping it nice and thin. I have used small personal tins but it looks lovely to do one big tart too. 
3. Blind bake the pastry with baking paper and baking beans for about 25 mins or until golden and cooked through.
4. Remove the tins and allow them to cool completely in their tins.
5. Prepare your fillings, either make you Creme Patissiere or open the packet!
6. Once your pastry is completely cool, smear a nice layer of fruit puree on the bottom. 
7. Then layer the creme patisserie on the top. Try not to mix the two together.
8. Then prepare all your fruit, either wash and dry the berries or slice the various fruits. Its nice to have a variation of shapes but similar size on a small tart, on a big one you either want to create a pattern or layer a mountain on top the more the merrier. I think it looks best when you go with themes, so either stick to all one colour fruit or have a complete mix, don't do half way. 

The tarts need eating quite soon after they are made so they are perfect for a tea party, you can make them while you bake your cake!