Fruit Tarts

This does not qualify as a 'healthy' meal by any stretch of the imagination, but it was so tasty I want to add it to my repertoire. Slightly time-consuming though.

Crust
1/2c butter, softened to room temperature
1/4c white sugar
1 1/2c flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

Beat the butter until fluffy.

Add sugar and mix until lightly combined.

Add beaten egg and mix until smooth

Add flour in small increments, mixing gently until it forms a stiff dough.

Put the dough ball on a sheet of wax paper, flatten into a disc and freeze for 15 minutes

Press the dough into your tin of choice (I don't have a tart tin so I used little cupcake-sized holders. They were the kind you can bake without a separate tin, and they worked surprisingly well).

Prick the bottoms of the tart crust with a fork gently to keep it from puffing up.

Heat oven to 400, bake for 5 minutes

Reduce heat to 350, bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool COMPLETELY before filling otherwise your custard might curdle.

New, Improved, Gluten-Free Crust: when flour does not love the ones you love

2c almond flour
1/4c white sugar
1/8tsp salt
1/4c butter, softened
1 egg
1/4tsp vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together

Cut in the soften butter and mix until loose crumbs form

Add the egg and vanilla, mix some more.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown

Same caveats apply in regards to cooling.

Custard
1 1/4c whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/4c white sugar
4Tbsp cornstarch
1tsp vanilla extract

I've found the key to the custard is to do all the prep steps first and MOVE QUICKLY. Measure everything out and have all the bowls ready to do the assembly process.


Beat the egg yolks. Add the sugar to the yolks and stir to combine. This should happen in a large, heatproof bowl.

At the same time, bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Use medium-low heat and keep an eye on it, stirring it as much as you can.

Add the cornstarch/flour mixture to the egg/sugar mixture and stir until it resembles a paste.

When the milk is starting to boil, remove the pan from heat and pour some of the hot milk into a measuring cup.

Very, very, VERY slowly, pour the hot milk into the egg paste, stirring all the time. We're talking add drops at a time and whisk like a maniac, scraping the sides of the bowl and trying to get all the egg incorporated.

When you've mixed about 3/4c of the hot milk into the egg, return all of the egg mixture and all the remaining milk to the saucepan. Bring to a boil on the lowest possible heat setting.

Never stop whisking.

Add the vanilla extract.

Keep whisking.

When it starts to boil, let it boil for 45 seconds.

Keep whisking.. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as much as you can manage.

Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Make the plastic wrap touch the top of the custard so a skin won't form. Refrigerate until you need to use it.

Glaze
Heat 1/4c jelly or jam in fruit of your choice with 1Tbsp water until the jelly goes back to being a liquid.

Assembling
Take the crust, spoon the cool custard on top of it, top with fruits that you like. I used berries. Avoid 'drippy' fruits like pineapple. Spoon the cooled glaze over  top, cover again with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.