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Puff Pastry Tarts:
1/2 pound (225 grams) puff pastry (homemade or store bought) (if using frozen puff pastry, defrost)
Glaze:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cream Filling:
1/3 cup (80 grams) mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
1/2 cup (80 ml/grams) cold heavy whipping cream (cream with a 35-40% butterfat content)
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) pure vanilla extract
Garnish:
Any combination of berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) or other fruit such as slices of peaches, plums, bananas, cantaloupe, melon, or kiwi.
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Puff Pastry Tarts: On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry into an 8 inch (20 cm) square. With a pizza wheel or sharp knife, trim the edges of the puff pastry. Then divide the pastry into 4 - 4 inch (10 cm) squares. Prick the bottom of the pastry with the tines of a fork. Place the squares of pastry on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled (about 30 minutes).
Blitz Puff Pastry Video
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator. With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the puff pastry with the egg wash. Just before you place your puff pastry into the oven, reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) if using a convection (fan) oven, or 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) if using a regular oven. Bake the puff pastry for about 35 - 40 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Cream Filling: In a bowl, beat the mascarpone until smooth. Add the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until soft peaks forms. Just before serving, spread or pipe (I used a plain tip) the cream onto the baked puff pastry squares and top with fresh berries or cut up fruit. If you like, you can dust the tops of the tarts with powdered sugar. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Note: You can bake the puff pastry squares several hours in advance. It is best to top the puff with the cream and fruit shortly before serving, otherwise the cream will soften the puff.
Makes four - 4 inch (10 cm) tarts.
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Just three components are needed to make this simple, yet elegant dessert. First, the base of the tarts is a buttery crisp puff pastry. Next, comes a deliciously rich and creamy filling made with mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. The finishing touch is rows of ruby red raspberries.
We start with the puff pastry. Of course, you could use a commerically made puff pastry, but I urge you to make your own. For these tarts I used the Blitz Puff Pastry recipe on the site which is easy to make and it freezes beautifully (up to three months). One thing to keep in mind, if the puff is frozen, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
Once the puff pastry squares have been baked and cooled, they are topped with a delicious cream filling made with mascarpone cheese and heavy whipping cream. (Mascarpone pronounced mas-kahr-POH-nay is a soft unripened cheese that belongs to the cream cheese family. It comes from Switzerland and Italy and is a thick, buttery-rich, sweet and velvety, ivory-colored cheese produced from cow's milk that has the texture of clotted or sour cream. It is normally sold in plastic 8 ounce (225 grams) tubs and can be found in specialty food stores and in the deli section of some grocery stores.) If you can't find mascarpone cheese, cream cheese can be used instead.
For the fruit, while I used raspberries, you can use whatever fruit is in season. If you like, go ahead and make the puff pastry tart shells several hours before you are going to serve them. You can also make the cream and store it separately in the fridge. But to keep the tart shells wonderfully crust, top them with the cream and fruit shortly before serving.