Mini Strawberry Lemon Tartlets

Mini tartlets are such a great and easy dessert to put together. They are made with mini tartlet shells using my homemade shortbread crust, filled with a lightened lemon cream (made with my lemon curd and whipped cream), then topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries. These mini strawberry lemon tartlets are addictive and so versatile as you can replace the strawberries with other fruits you love or have at home. For example, you can easily make these into raspberry tartlets or peach tartlets. I hope you love them! Can’t wait for you to give them a try.

Ingredient & Material Notes

• Mini tartlet pans: needed to make this recipe. You can also use these mini tartlet pans. If you don’t have any, you can always replace them with a mini muffin pan.
• Shortbread crust: you can use a store-bought one or make your own. If you are up for the challenge, please check out my homemade shortbread crust recipe. You won’t regret it!
• Lemon curd: you can make your own (which I strongly recommend),and you can find the "best lemon curd recipe here! If making it is too much of a hassle for you, you can always use the store-bought kind.
• Heavy whipping cream: must have a minimum of 30% fat content.
• Fresh fruit: this recipe calls for strawberries and blueberries.

How to make this recipe

Making these mini lemon strawberry tartlets is straightforward. You simply have to:

• Roll out the shortbread crust and line the mini tartlet pans.
• Bake the mini tartlet shells.
• Make the lightened lemon cream.
• Fill the tartlets with lemon cream.
• Top the mini tartlets with strawberries and blueberries.

Recipe notes on mini tartlet shells

• Roll out the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour before lining the tartlet pans.
• Cut out pieces of dough slightly larger than your mini tins so that you have enough dough to line them. Pieces of dough that are too large will make the lining that much harder.
• You can either line the pans on the inside (regular), or on the outside. In which case, you turn the pan upside down, cover it with the shortbread crust, and place it on the baking tray also upside down.
• Trim the edges of the tartlet shells using a small knife.
• Pinch the inside of the tartlet shells using a fork.
• To bake the tartlet shells, you can line the interior with parchment paper and place a second mini pan on top, with weights inside (say beans or rice). This will help the shells from shrinking while baking.
• Bake the tartlets for 8 to 10 minutes, remove the paper, and re-bake until golden.
• As soon as they are baked, you need to remove the shells from the tins immediately and let them cool off at room temperature.
• If you don’t have mini tartlet pans, you can use a mini muffin tin. Make sure to butter the inside of the tin, then cut out rounds of shortbread dough, and line the inside of the muffin tin. Proceed as instructed above for baking.

General recipe notes

• You can use homemade shortbread crust or store-bought - up to you.
• If you are making your lemon curd, you can find a delicious recipe, with all the tips and tricks for success here: "small batch lemon curd.
• Make the curd 1 day in advance and refrigerate overnight. This will help the curd set properly which is crucial to making the lightened lemon cream.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks. To ensure your whipped cream is beautifully whipped and holds up the lemon curd later, the cream must be chilled before you whip it.
• When making the lemon lightened cream: add 1/3 of cream into the curd first to loosen it up, then gently fold in the rest of the cream.
• After you have filled the mini tartlets with the lemon cream, refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes before topping with the fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Expert notes

• To make lemon lightened cream, the ratio is as follows: 2/3 lemon curd + 1/3 whipped cream.
• To help the cream attain the soft peaks, place the mixing bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes before whipping the cream.
• The cream must be prepared when you are ready to assemble the mini lemon tartlets.
• To make the strawberries and blueberries shine, toss with a little powdered sugar before placing them over the mini tartlets! Only use A LITTLE!

Make ahead

Most of the elements of these mini strawberry lemon tartlets can be made ahead:

• Mini tartlet shells: Bake them, let them cool off, and place in an airtight container. They keep for 1 week. Then fill and decorate when ready to eat.
• Lemon curd: must be made 1 day in advance. You can make it up to 5 days in advance and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
• Mini lemon tartlets: once the tartlet shells have been filled with the lemon cream, they can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before topping them with the fresh fruit.

Storage tips

These mini strawberry lemon tartlets should be kept in the refrigerator. They keep for up to 2 days.

Freezer instructions

You can freeze the baked tartlet shells filled with the lemon cream (without the fruit). Place in an airtight container and keep for up to 1 month.

To defrost: Place in the refrigerator overnight, then top with the fresh strawberries and blueberries, and enjoy!

Variations for this recipe

This mini strawberry lemon tartlets can easily be made into raspberry tartlets or peach tartlets by simply swapping the fresh fruit called for in this recipe.

You can replace the lemon lightened cream with only lemon curd to make some lemon curd tartlets. But, if I may say so, I think the lightened version is lovely.

You can replace the lemon lightened cream, with vanilla pastry cream.