Making the Dough for the Mini Tart Shells
These tartlet shells are made with very common pantry staples that you probably have at home. The only ingredients you need to make these delicious tarts shells are some flour, butter, powdered sugar, pure vanilla extract, salt, and an egg.
You can choose to omit the sugar in the tart dough if you prefer. In fact, that is exactly what I did when I made these mini cherry clafoutis tarts. I felt that the custard filling was sweet enough, and the dough didn’t need any extra sweetness.
The one thing you must remember when making the tart shells is that you need to keep the dough cold at all times prior to baking. Ensure that your butter and egg are very cold prior to making the dough. Also, after making the dough, you need to let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will help the gluten in the dough relax and make the dough easier to roll. After molding the dough into the tart tins, ensure that you chill the dough in the fridge prior to baking.
Can Mini Tart Shells be made without a mold?
Absolutely, yes!
You can choose to use mini tart tins to help mold the mini tart shells, or you could make the tart shells by baking them using a mini muffin pan. Either way, the tarts will still taste amazing. If you check out the fourth image in the grid below, you’ll notice that I used a muffin pan to shape the tart shells.
Do you have to Prebake Tart Shells?
The short answer is Yes! It is recommended that you prebake tart shells before use so that you do not end up with undercooked tart shells.
Filling Ideas for Mini Tart Shells
It is amazing how many different combinations of treats you can whip up with these mini tart shells. As you can see in this picture, I filled the tartlet shell with salted caramel, a mini marshmallow and then topped it with some dark chocolate.
Another way to enjoy these mini tart shells is by filling them with pastry cream and topping them off with fresh fruits. You should definitely check out my delicious pastry cream recipe. It is perfectly creamy with the perfect amount of sweetness.
If you want to try something a little different, you can make mini cherry clafoutis with these shells.
Mini Tart Shells Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 g all purpose flour
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 227 g cold unsalted butter
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add flour, powdered sugar and, salt to the food processor, and pulse until the ingredients are very well combined
- Add very cold butter pieces to the processor, and pulse until the flour/butter mixture looks like coarse sand
- Add the egg and pure vanilla extract to the processor, and pulse until the mixture just comes together. If the mixture is still grainy after pressing a bit of it between your thumb and index finger, you can add about one tablespoon of cold water to the dough and pulse. The dough should come together
- Next, remove the dough from the processor. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Then place the wrapped dough in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes ( it is important that you let your dough chill so that the gluten in the dough can relax. The relaxed dough will be much easier to roll and, will cut down on shrinking while you're baking the dough)
- After the dough has been chilling for at least 30 minutes, bring it out of the fridge and leave it on the countertop for about five to ten minutes before you roll it. The dough may crack if it is too cold while you're rolling it
- Roll out the dough so it is slightly wider than the size that you need for your mini tart tin
- Pick up the dough carefully and place it in your tart tin.
- Press the dough downwards, and firmly against the sides of the mini tart tin
- Once the dough is pressed firmly into the tart tin, roll your thumb along the edge of the tart tin to get rid of any excess dough
- Chill the dough in the mini tart tins for at least 30 mins
- While the dough is chilling in the fridge, preheat your oven to 400F
- After the dough in your tart tins has been chilling for at least 30 minutes, prick holes in the dough using a fork. This is also known as docking the dough. Pricking holes in the dough will prevent the dough from puffing up while it bakes
- (Optional) If you have extra mini tart tins, you can press them firmly inside the mini tart tins that have dough. So, you would be sandwiching the dough between two mini tart tins before baking. Doing this will also prevent the dough from puffing up, and will help define the tart shape.
- Place the mini tarts tins on a baking sheet, and then place them in the preheated oven for 12 minutes
- After 12 minutes, bring the tart shells out of oven and check if they are fully cooked. If the tarts are still pale, put them back in the oven and watch them carefully. They are fully cooked when they start to turn light golden color
- Let the tart shells cool completely before using them. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months
Video
Notes
- This recipe is very quick and easy to put together. You can make these mini tart shells a few days ahead and store them in an airtight container in the fridge if needed. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months if required.
- The filling ideas for these mini tart shells are endless. Below are some combinations that I have tried and really enjoy:
- pastry cream and fresh fruits,
- salted caramel sauce, mini marshmallows, and dark chocolate,
- lemon curd, and strawberry jam
