Beautiful, Flaky Flower Fruit Tarts
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!
- 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
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
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust according to the instructions found here.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.