The perfect summertime treat, these raspberry custard tarts are a delicious dessert for a pic-nic or to finish off a BBQ night. The best part? They are a great make-ahead dessert as you can prepare both the cream and the shortcrust in advance, and just assemble when it’s time to serve.

Fruit tarts are a delight. Nothing screams summer more than a vanilla tart topped with all sorts of fresh fruits. Raspberries, in particular, are such magic berries. Their sweet and tart flavour pairs wonderfully both with chocolate and vanilla. I am lucky to have beautiful raspberry bushes in my garden that provide a bountiful harvest every summer. So making these tarts is an obvious choice that time of year.

What you will need

To make these raspberry desserts, you will need basically three things:

• A sweet shortcrust pastry base
• A batch of vanilla custard
• Fresh raspberries.

While you can both buy a sheet of shortcrust pastry and a bag of powdered vanilla cream that you cook up with milk, linked above are the recipes to make both from scratch.

As for raspberries, fresh are to be preferred. Frozen berries are fine until they keep frozen, but once they thaw they will lose some of the juice and the texture will get mushy. Freeze-dried are a viable option, just keep in mind that they need to be added right before serving, otherwise they’ll absorb moisture from the cream and lose their crunch to a mushy texture. Freeze-dried berries retain a higher acidity, so dusting them with powdered sugar is recommended to get a more balanced flavour.

Preparing the tart shells

First off, you need to bake the shells and cool them down completely. Roll out your shortcrust pastry on a floured surface and proceed to cut it out into circles that are slightly larger than the tins you plan to use. You can easily measure them against a glass or a bowl and use the rim as a guideline to cut out your pastry circles.

Press each circle onto its mini tart form. Cover the shortcrust with parchment paper and place dried beans all over the flat surface of the shortcrust shells. The weight of the beans will prevent the bottom of the shells from rising, keeping them nicely flat. Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C (356F) for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Once baked, carefully pop out of the tin and rest on a cooling rack.

Preparing the vanilla cream

While the shortcrust shells are baking, it is time to take care of the vanilla filling. If you are using a box mix, just follow the instructions. If you would like to make your own cream from scratch, you can follow my recipe for a small batch of vanilla custard.

Once cooked, when it has thickened to your liking, remove the pot from the stove and place a sheet of cling film directly onto the cream, there should be direct contact to the surface of the cream, no air in-between. This will prevent the top of the cream to harden as it cools, creating a harder layer on top, and thus ensuring the same texture through and through. Let the vanilla cream cool completely; to speed up the process you may place the pot in an ice bath.

How to assemble the raspberry custard tarts

Once both the shortcrust shells and the cream have cooled completely, it is possible to assemble the raspberry tartelettes. Fill a pastry bag with the cream and evenly pipe onto the shortcrust shells. I used a smooth round piping tip and smoothed out the cream with a spatula for an even finish. You may as well use a star tip and cover the bottom of the tart shell in cream stars. If the cream is thick enough, you can actually get pretty creative.

Lastly, gently press the raspberries onto the cream. Your raspberry custard tarts are ready to be enjoyed.

Raspberry custard tart tips

The custard filling should ideally be quite firm and not runny. You want to be able to eat your little tarts on the go with your fingers, so the cream shouldn’t spill out once you bite into them. If you follow my vanilla custard recipe, you will have a cream with the perfect texture for this job. If you notice that your cream is on a more runny end, serve the tarts on small plates and recommend to use a spoon.

Unlike many baked goods, that often taste better the following day, I find fruit pies to be at their best when they’re fresh and the filling has not yet moistened the crust. Nothing beats the contrast between the soft cream and the crunchy shell. While the shortcrust shells and the cream are two great make-aheads, I would not recommend assembling the tarts too much in advance. Store the cream refrigerated in a pastry bag, and the baked shortcrust shells on a tray, covered with a clean cloth until you’re ready to assemble.

Leftovers may be stored refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days, but do expect changes in the texture, especially in the fruits.

If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you’re planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.