Summer is here and what a better way to enjoy your five-a-day in a dessert form. Mini fruit tarts are an excellent treat for any time of day, great for sharing too.

You can make a big tart, but we like them bite-sized, that way you don't feel so guilty devouring it.

To make more time for eating, we are using store-bought shortcrust pastry for this recipe, but you can make your own too if you wish. 

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/gas mark 6.
  2. Sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface, roll out the pastry; the thickness should be of around 1cm. Prick the base, line the moulds and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 
  3. Cut small circles from parchment paper that will fit into your tart tins. Fill the mini moulds with baking beans and bake the tartlets for 10 minutes or until the edges start to colour. 
  4. Beat the one egg with a little bit of water to create an egg wash Brush the tartlets and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack. 
  5. Pastry cream: Whisk the 4 egg yolks and sugar together till it becomes pale. Sift in the flour and whisk well together.
  6. Put the vanilla seeds and the vanilla pod in a saucepan with the milk, bring it to a gentle boil. Do not step away from the stove at this point. 
  7. Add a little bit of milk to the egg mixture and whisk well. Make sure the eggs do not become scrambled. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and continue whisking over a medium/low heat, catching the edges. It should begin to boil and thicken, cook for a further 2 minutes. 
  8. Remove from the heat and allow to cool at room temperature then transfer to the refrigerator. 
  9. Beat the mixture to remove any lumps and to make it smooth. Spoon into a piping bag with a round nozzle.
  10. Pipe into the base of the pastry case. Arrange the blueberries and raspberries on top. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve when ready.

These are best eaten on the day you make them as there is pastry cream piped in. You can use any fruit you like, strawberries, kiwi, mango slices, just make sure it fits on top of the pastry case.