Mini raspberry tarts

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These Mini Raspberry tarts with a hint of lemon are perfect afternoon teatime treats and great to take along for a summer picnic too!

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I love the flavour combination of lemon and raspberries so when I decided to make some mini raspberry tarts I added a little lemon zest to the filling, but only just enough to give it a little flavour and not to make it overpowering. I also decided to make shortbread cases rather than sweet pastry as personally I think that a pastry case only acts as something to hold the dessert in, rather than being part of the dessert. A buttery shortbread case enhances the taste of these tarts so much more than a pastry case would. Obviously it's all down to personal taste and they would work just as well with pastry cases, if that's what you prefer.

I admit that delicate tart cases are not my forte and the shortbread is perhaps not as neat as it could be, so let's call these 'rustic'. They are the perfect size to pop straight into your mouth and would be great for an afternoon tea or summer picnic.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Shortbread case

For the filling

To decorate

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
2
Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar
3
Add the egg and mix until everything comes together. Form into a ball, which should be soft and smooth - add a drop of water if it's too dry
4
Roll the dough out to approximately 4-5mm thick. Using a cutter larger than the mini muffin pan / tart pan cells, cut out 12 circles (I used a 68mm plain cutter)
5
Press each circle gently into the tin. Prick the base of each twice with a fork
6
Bake in the oven for approx 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the tin and allow to cool
7
Crush the raspberries with the caster sugar. Spoon a little of the crushed raspberry mixture into the base of each tart case
8
Make the filling by whisking the melted chocolate together with the mascarpone, cream cheese and lemon zest, until thick and smooth
9
Spoon or pipe the creamy filling into the tart cases and pop a raspberry on top. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving
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Helen is a recipe developer and food blogger living in the Midlands with her husband and three children.

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