Kristina, who rarely shows interest in my baked goods until they have been fully prepared & ready for consumption, waltzed into the kitchen this morning offering her assistance. These are by far one of her ultimate favorite desserts and she's willing to exert effort to ensure they get made time and time again;)
Raspberry Blueberry Heartlettes
This is my third time making tarts and they never get old. I found this darling little "heartlette" pan at Target and got straight to work making these darling little Valentine's inspired tarts. I will warn you; it's not quite as easy to shape the dough into the heart shape vs. the typical circular tart pan, but aren't these little darlings worth the extra effort? I think so. This is my classic tart recipe from my Frame by Frame Baking cookbook.
Recipe Instructions
Crust Instructions
- 1) Mix together flour, powdered sugar and almond flour.
- 2) Mix in cubed butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs (I find this easier to accomplish using my hands)
- 3) Add in milk and egg yolk and knead together until dough forms.
- 4) Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- 5) Roll out dough to about 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of wax/parchment paper or on floured surface.
- 6) Preheat oven to 375ยบ.
- 7) Place dough evenly into tart pans, prick several times with a fork on the bottom and then cover in tinfoil.
- 8) Bake 10-15 minutes watching closely and removing when crust turns a light brown.
Custard Instructions
- 1) Mix together flour, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.
- 2) Add in egg yolks and stir until smooth.
- 3) Heat 1/2 & 1/2 over med-high heat for a few minutes until sides start to bubble.
- 4) Remove pan from heat and our 1/3 of the liquid into the egg mixture whisking until smooth.
- 5) Add the egg mixture to the pan, return to heat and whisk constantly until mixture begins to thicken and bubbles form on surface. (will only take a few minutes) 6) Remove from heat and pour in small bowl. Stir in butter and vanilla.
- 7) Cover with plastic and let cool.
Tart Assembly Instructions
- 1) Wash berries with sugar water and lightly pad dry.
- 2) When tart crust has cooled add 1-2 tsps of custard to the bottom of the tart.
- 3) Arrange berries in the crust, sprinkle with powdered sugar and then eat!
What people are saying...
Sabine says...
Angela,
)
in step 2 of your custard instructions - do you use any other liquid in addition to the 2 egg yolks? Mixing just the egg yolks into the flour/starch/sugar mixture resulted in lumps instead of a smooth mass.
Otherwise the heartlettes turned out beautiful: the crust was perfect and held up well to the custard, which was very tasty. Btw, instead of covering the dough with tinfoil I simply pricked it with a fork and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Baked wonderfully and didn’t puff up a bit (and is much less hassle).
Also, I found that if you roll the dough into little balls and sort of pre-shape those into hearts and then press them into the molds makes that step much easier (it’s still something for the more patient baker among us
Thanks for a great recipe for this unique pan! Loooove the pictures…
Angieriver says...
Sabine-
Thanks so glad they turned out for you; these are one of my favorites! And thanks for the tips!
I didn’t put in any liquid other than the egg yolks and half & half. I’ve found that heating the mixture is very sensitive and cooking it a little too long can make it not as smooth.