Sweets

Raspberry & Vanilla Bean Cream Tarts // I'm thrilled to share with you another member of the WhipperBerry Creative Team today! Jo-Anna has been a long time Friday Flair contributor and I've always been in love with her work. She has fabulous taste and I can't wait to show off all of her amazing talents!

Hello Whipperberry readers!

I'm Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, my little corner of the internet, where I share my passion for the home. Everything from recipes to crafts to decorating for the holidays to gardening. I just really love to share ways to make our lives a little more simple and a lot more pretty!

I'm beyond thrilled to be contributing over here today at Whipperberry! I have been reading Heather's blog ever since I discovered this amazing world of blogging. I've always loved her work, so to be able to be a part of the Whipperberry journey, makes me very very happy!

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I wanted to kick things off by sharing an amazing dessert with you! These Raspberry & Vanilla Bean Cream Tarts are perfect for Father's Day or any summer gathering. There's nothing more summery than fresh berries!

You can make this recipe as 6 mini tarts or one large tart…either way it's a fantastic dessert! There's just something so elegant and charming about tarts, isn't there? And while they may seem daunting to make they're really not.

Don't be afraid of the length of this recipe. They are not hard to make at all, and trust me, they are well worth the effort! Your friends & family will love them. And if raspberries aren't your thing, you can use any kind of fruit you like: blueberries, strawberries, bananas. So simple. So versatile. So delicious.

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Let's get baking!

Raspberry Tarts with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Please note: It's best to make the tarts in this order: Crust first, then the cream.

Tart Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks

1 egg yolk

6 mini 3 inch tart pans, or 1 large tart pan

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1 1/3 cups whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split down the centre to expose the seeds

1/4 – 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Start with the crust.  In a food processor, process the flour, sugar and salt for about 10 seconds.

T hen add the chunks of butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Add the egg yolk and process again until the egg is thoroughly combined.

If you are making mini tarts (tartlets), separate the mixture into 6 – 3 inch tart pans, and press the dough into the molds, making the sides slightly higher than the centre. Bake for 12-15 minutes, making sure to prick them with a fork several times, as the dough tends to puff up. Watch them carefully, as they go from not done to overcooked very quickly!

If you are making one large tart, press the mixture into a 10 inch tart pan (making the sides slightly higher than the centre) and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Again make sure to prick the tart with a fork several times while baking, and watch it carefully.

Next, make your pastry cream. Using a mixer, beat together the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.

In a small saucepan combine the milk and the vanilla bean, bring to a simmer. Then remove the vanilla bean.

Pour about half of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, and stir.

Then return this milk/egg mixture to the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan, and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the custard is thick and slightly bubbly. Make sure to whisk constantly so that the mixture doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Cover the custard with a sheet of parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming, then it set aside to cool.

Fruit Topping raspberries icing sugar  

Putting the Tarts Together

Once the tart shells and custard have cooled, add about a 1/4 cup of the custard to each shell.

Top with fresh raspberries, and a dusting of icing sugar.

Enjoy!

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Thank you so much for reading today! I do hope you'll try these tarts…you won't be disappointed!

And feel free to come on by and say Hi sometime at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, or stop in for some Cheesy Quinoa Bites, or Fudge Ice Pops, or come learn how to make a Fresh Herb Wreath! I'd love to have you!

Have a delicious day!

Mini Berry Cobblers // I am over the moon excited to share with you my big announcement… WhipperBerry has a new CREATIVE TEAM!!

jenn from clean & scentsible // shannon & jen from eat.sleep.make // haley from life is sweet // jenn from my fabuless life // jo-anna from a pretty life // jesseca from one pretty appetite

These are seven of the most talented ladies out there and they are going to blow your mind with their creativity! They have all been long time participants in my friday flair link party and I can't wait to show them off even more! We will start the show with Jesseca from One Sweet Appetite. She is one talented food blogger with some mad photography skills!

Hi everyone! My name is Jesseca, and I am honored to be here as one of the amazing contributors to Whipperberry! You can find me over at One Sweet Appetite where I’m whipping up special dishes every week. Speaking of great dishes… It’s almost summer and that means our produce selection in Utah is going crazy. There are so many fun and fresh things to chose from. I could hardly control myself at our farmers market and had to pick up some delicious looking berries. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, and I worried that the beautiful fruit was going to go to waste before we got to it! I couldn’t let this happen… So I rolled up my sleeves, put on my apron, and got cooking!

Mini Berry Cobblers

2-1/2 Cups fresh chopped berries (I used blackberries and strawberries)

3/4 + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup buttermilk Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray six ramekins with baking spray and set aside. Divide your fruit between the four ramekins. You can toss them in sugar if you’d like. Our produce happened to be sweet enough already, so I didn’t feel the need to add any extra sugar. This time. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup of sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and buttermilk. Whisk until combined. Divide the batter between your dishes, pouring directly over your berries. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and bake fro 30-35 minutes, or until the top of your cobbler is golden brown. Serve your cobbler alone or topped with vanilla ice cream. Either way this is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It happens to be the most requested dessert from my four year old. This recipe is also very user friendly. You can swap the berries for almost anything. Get creative and toss in some fresh mango or peaches. You can’t go wrong! If you liked this recipe you should check out one of these other great desserts: Blackberry Lemonade Cupcakes Cherry Lime Lollipops Apple Crumb Bars

Here are a few more of my recipes that you may like…

ratatouille // coconut lemon bread // 40 minute hamburger buns