French Fruit Tarts

I have joined a local cooking club, and last Tuesday we were all asked to bring something from a bakery. When I think of a bakery, I remember the delicious looking items I saw in the windows as I backpacked through Europe. I decided to recreate some one of these items, and it was a success.



French Fruit Tarts
Chef Melissa Pearson


Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten
cold water

For the filling
8 oz soft cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Raspberries and/or blueberries

For glaze
4 tablespoons apricot, peach or mango jam
4 tablespoons water

Makes 24

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour. Add the sugar. Add the egg yolk and enough cold water to make a smooth dough. Knead lightly and cover with plastic wrap. Put into the fridge for thirty minutes. Roll out the pastry 1/4 inch and cut out rounds of pastry using a 2 to 3 inch pastry cutter. Line the tins with the pastry rounds and put into the fridge for 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prick the bases of the tartlet cases with a fork. Bake in the oven for twelve minutes. Put on a wire rack to cool.

Make the glaze by putting the jam and water into a small pan. Bring to a boil, stirring all the time. Put jam mixture into a clean pan and keep warm. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and lemon zest. Spread a little in each pastry case. Top with a selection of fruits and using a pastry brush, brush a little glaze onto the fruit, covering the tartlets up to the pastry edge.

Keep in mind that you will need one or two mini muffin pans to make the tarts.