Mini Fruit Tarts

On Saturday I had the best time with one of my oldest and dearest friends. She made the trip to come down for the day, and we sat and had lunch and just talked for several hours. There's something that just feels so good about spending time with a friend you've known for most of your life (in this case, about 23 years). We had a simple lunch of quiche and Caesar salad, and we finished it off with these mini fruit tarts. These are relatively simple to make and are a great, lighter dessert option for any brunch or lunch.

Mini Fruit Tarts
for the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp cold water

for the custard:
2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 Tbsp unsalted butter

to top:
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

For the crust, add flour, powdered sugar, and salt to a food processor and process to blend. Add 1/2 cup cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cold water and process just until the dough starts to stick together. Add more water by teaspoonfuls if the dough is dry.

Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into the cups of a mini muffin pan and press onto bottom and partially up sides. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans 5 minutes. Use a knife to pop out the crust cups and cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, for the custard, put milk and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Spoon into the cool crust cups and let sit at room temperature about 20 minutes. Top with berries and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 48 mini tarts (but I easily halved the recipe).

source: recipe from i heart naptime