Fruit tarts are the ultimate homemade delight, bound to impress guests or just make a nice change from cake or biscuits at tea time.
British classics typically feature sweet jams atop a shortcrust pastry base, but Mary Berry’s Portuguese twist on the recipe is a game-changer.
The baking extraordinaire opts for juicy apricots instead, resulting in a delicious version of the Portuguese delicacy, pastel de nata.
As featured on her BBC Two programme ‘Mary Makes It Easy’, Mary introduced what she described as “a firm favourite around the world”, and shocked viewers with how easy the tarts are to make.
For an authentic touch, puff pastry is key, and you can easily pick it up from most grocery stores like Sainsbury’s at a bargain price of just 99p.
Method
Source a 12-hole deep muffin tin and prepare it by greasing each section with butter. Find a 10cm/4in round cutter ready for cutting the pastry out.
Next, whip up the custard by first adding the milk, cream and vanilla to a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir gently until hot.
Crack the whole egg into a heatproof bowl, add the two extra egg yolks, followed by the sugar and cornflour. Hand whisk until everything is well combined.
Add the hot milk and cream mixture to the bowl and whisk again until smooth. Gently transfer the custard back into the saucepan, place it over medium heat and whisk to a thick consistency. Mary warned against overheating the custard as it will curdle and lose the silky consistency.
Spoon the finished custard into a bowl and cover with a piece of cling film that lightly touches the surface of the custard. Set aside and leave to cool completely at room temperature.
Now for the pastry, dust the worktop with a little flour, then unroll the pastry and cut it in half lengthways to make two long strips.
Sit the strips on top of one another, press down slightly, and then cut the pastry in half widthways. Take one piece and roll it out thinly to create a large piece big enough to cut into five 10cm/4in discs.
Repeat this process with the other piece of pastry, producing 10 discs in total. Gently place the rounds in the muffin tin, pressing down firmly and up the sides of the tin, then prick the bases with a fork.
Fill the pastry cases with a spoonful of cold custard then top with the apricot slices. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, if you have time.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Next, sprinkle the tarts with the demerara sugar and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the custard is set.
Remove the golden tarts from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Finally, brush the melted jam over the tops of the tarts to serve.
