Tartlets with Strawberries and Cream

These strawberry and cream tartlets are made with a sweet shortcrust pastry, filled with fresh whipped cream and topped with strawberries. These tartlets are delicious and another great variation to strawberries and cream which is a popular treat during the summer months. You can add any fruit of choice and other fruit ideas include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or sliced kiwi fruit. Overall these tartlets with cream will go with almost any fruit you desire.

Ingredients for Tartlets with Strawberries and Cream

For the sweet pastry

• 200g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 50g icing sugar
• 100g butter (cubed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 20ml milk

For the cream filling and topping

• 350ml double cream/heavy cream
• 35g icing sugar
• 12 halved strawberries

How to Make Tartlets with Strawberries and Cream

Make the pastry

1. For the sweet pastry, sift the plain flour, icing sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your fingers to rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice and milk then use your hands and bring the dough together. Once a dough has begun to form, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and keep bringing it together to ensure the dough is well formed. If the dough is too dry and bits of dough are falling off then add a drop of water at a time and lighty knead until it has fully formed. At this point the dough should not be too dry or wet. Shape the dough into a disk and then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. While the pastry is in the refrigerator, grease 4 tartlet tins (10cm/4 inches) with butter and set aside. After 1 hour, remove the dough from the fridge and lightly flour a surface. Roll out the pastry to around 2 – 3 mm thick. Use a cereal bowl that is slightly larger than the tartlet tins to cut circles in the pastry.

3. Line the tins with the pastry but using your fingers to ensure that the pastry is pushed tight and snug into the tins. If there is any overhang, do not cut it at this point as the pastry may shrink. Cut some baking paper into circles that will fit inside the tartlets and place the baking paper inside each tartlet. Fill with baking beans (see recipe tips below) and refrigerate the pastry in the tins with the baking beans for 30 minutes.

Bake the pastry

4. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/375^oF/190^oC/170^oC (fan) then place the pastry tartlet tins on a baking tray with the baking beans in place. Now you can cut any overhang by going around the tins with a shape knife or kitchen scissors. Bake the pastry for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lift out the baking paper and beans. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Make the whipped cream

5. For the cream filling, pour the cream into a stand mixer bowl or a mixing bowl and add the vanilla and icing sugar. Whisk on a medium speed using the stand mixer with the whisk attached or a hand held mixer until the cream forms fluffy peaks. If you do not have a stand mixer or a hand held mixer, you can use an 8-wire whisk.

6. Add the whipped cream to a piping bag with any shaped nozzle inside and pipe the whipped cream into the pastry cases or use a spoon to add the cream to the cases. Top the tarts with strawberries or any fruit you desire and refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving.

Recipe Tips

• When preparing the pastry, you can add more milk if necessary but add at small increments of a few drops at a time.
• This recipe calls for baking beans to blind bake the pastry. If you do not have baking beans, you can use rice or lentils.
• You can prepare the cream beforehand and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• When whipping the cream, ensure you don’t over whip as the cream will become too thick.
• You can whip the cream by hand using a wire whisk. This will take around 10 - 15 minutes. Using the whisk on a stand mixer or a handheld mixer will speed up the process.
• Whip the cream in a cold bowl. You can place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes prior to using.
• Ensure the cream is taken out of the fridge just before whipping it as cold cream whips better.

Nutrition

Calories	Fat	Saturates	Carbs
596kcal	42.9g	20.0g	49.1g
Sugars	Fibre	Protein	Salt
35.0g	2.1g	6.0g	0.85g

Storage

Store these tarts in the fridge for up to 2 days.

More recipes that include strawberries and cream

• Strawberries and cream cupcakes
• Strawberry crumble served with whipped cream