Beautiful, Flaky Flower Fruit Tarts

I giggled when I pulled these gluten free tarts shaped like flowers out of the oven. It’s amazing how delighted I was by these adorable buttery fruit tarts. I am a simple creature, I guess! These little tarts use my flaky gluten free pie crust, a muffin tin, and a simple fruit filling. They are perfect for a tea party or brunch. Bonus points for being gluten-free and sweetened with only unrefined maple sugar and pure maple syrup!

Preparation Notes

I made these tarts with apricots and raspberries, but you can make this same filling recipe with pretty much any pitted fruit and/or berry you wish. I am thinking of making them with blueberries soon. The ratios in the recipe shouldn’t change.

A 6-inch flower cookie cutter is the perfect size for cutting out one large piece of dough that will fit down into your muffin tin and have the scalloped edges up around the edge. You can also use a smaller 3.5 inch flower cookie cutter to get the scalloped shape, but you will need two more cutters – a 4cm circle and a 6cm circle. When I started making biscuits and pie crust, I got this set that included a pie blender and several sized cutters. I have done both methods and prefer using one single 6-inch cutter for ease. But more than one cutter isn’t too difficult!  

I think they taste best if they have been given a chance to chill overnight before serving. It really helps the texture of both the filling and the crust.

Beautiful, Flaky Flower Fruit Tarts

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These little tarts use my flaky gluten free pie crust, a muffin tin, and a simple fruit filling. They are perfect for a tea party or brunch. Bonus points for being gluten-free and sweetened with only unrefined maple sugar and pure maple syrup!

• Author: Jessie
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 Tarts 1x
• Category: Sweet Treats
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 Gluten-Free Pie Dough (my recipe linked here will give you enough for two, so cut measurements in half if you are only going to use the dough for this recipe)

Around 2 cups (425 g) fresh or frozen fruit – I used fresh apricots and frozen raspberries

1/2 cup (156 g) pure maple syrup

2 TBS starch (corn, tapioca, or arrowroot)

1 TBS water

2 TBS unsalted butter (I like to use a nice grass fed butter)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Egg/milk/melted butter for wash of pie crust – I liked an egg wash on these

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Instructions

1. Prepare the pie crust according to the instructions found here.
2. Spray a 12-count muffin tin thoroughly with oil, including the wells AND the top of the pan because the flower petals will sit on the tops. The oil prevents them from sticking. If you have two tins, oil both as this recipe yields about 10 tarts. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
3. In a medium sauce pan, combine fruit, maple syrup, unsalted butter, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil. While this is coming to a boil, mix the starch and water to make a slurry. When the fruit begins to break down and reach the texture you like for your filling, add the slurry while mixing constantly. Bring back to a boil and let simmer until the filling thickens, continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl to allow the filling to cool down and set more.
4. Roll out the dough and cut out your flowers. Use 6 of the 12 wells on the muffin tin and stagger them so you have room for the petals to lay on the top. If using a 6-inch cutter, you should be able to just cut one big piece that will fit down into the wells with petals that overhang at the top. If you are using a smaller flower cutter, cut a 6 cm circle and use it to line the well. Cut a 3.5-inch flower and cut a 4cm circle out of the middle. Place the 4 cm circle at the bottom of the well to reinforce the bottom. Lay the circle of petals around the top of the well and gently press until it stays in place.
5. Bake for 5-7 minutes to “parbake” the dough. You want to see the dough begin to puff up but not brown. Remove from oven and apply egg wash. Fill each well with fruit filling. Bake again for around 10 minutes until the crust becomes a deep golden color.
6. Allow the tarts to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before you transfer to a cooling rack. When the tarts come to room temperature, I suggest chilling in the fridge before serving. They benefit from at least an hour in the fridge. I think they are best if you make them the day before you need them and give them a long chill.