Raspberry Tarts

For the Pastry Dough

Add the all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Give it a few pulses before adding the butter.

Cut the COLD butter up into tablespoon sized pieces and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse a few times until the butter is in pea-sized clumps. In a small bowl mix together the ice water and vodka. Drizzle the mixture into the processor while pulsing. If you can squeeze the dough into a clump that stays together it's done. If not, add in another tablespoon of ice water. P.S. The vodka will bake off so don't worry about adding it in!

Transfer the dough onto a pastry mat or another floured surface and knead 2 to 3 times just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten the dough into a one-inch thick disk and cover it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag, then place it in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Roll the chilled pastry dough out on a well-floured surface. My tart forms came with this great cutting tool for that cute rilled edge but rougher circles will work just as well.

A also use this little stamp to press the dough down but fingers would work just as well.

Pierce the shells with a fork a couple of times to let steam out and weight down with beans over some parchment paper.

Bake at 425F until golden brown, approximately 15 minutes. I removed the tarts and let them cool on a cloth.

For the Reduction

Add the raspberries, water, lemon juice, and sugar to a small pot over medium heat. muddle and mix a bit. Once it starts to bubble reduce to a simmer and allow to reduce by about half.

For the Custard

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean by bringing it to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat then set it aside to infuse for 15 minutes.

Separate the egg whites and yolks into a separate bowls. Don’t throw out those egg whites, you can use them to make many tasty things! Put the yolks into a larger bowl.

Pour in 2/3 cup sugar in with the egg yolks and whisk them together until it’s a light and fluffy mixture.Now add the cornstarch and mix vigorously. You don’t want any lumps remaining! You can also sift it into the bowl to help prevent those lumps.

Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until it is incorporated then mix the remaining hot milk mixture in. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking continuously until thickened and slowly boiling. Now go ahead and remove from the heat and stir in the butter.

Let it cool slightly then pour it into a bowl, mix in the raspberry reduction and set aside.

For the Assembly

I filled the shells with my leftover strawberry custard. A dollop of whipped cream would work well as long as you don't plan on storing them very long.

I placed three raspberries on each tart and then added a few drops of the strawberry sauce I made between each berry.

You could use some thinned out jam instead if you want to save time.

Dust with some confectioner's sugar for garnish and you're done!