Canadian Northwest Territories Berry Tarts Recipes

BERRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Using a 4-in. round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles, rerolling scraps as necessary. Press circles onto bottoms and up sides of ungreased muffin cups., Mix sugar and cornstarch; toss with berries and lemon juice. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling into each cup. Bake on a lower oven rack until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 24-26 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack; cool completely., For topping, beat cream until soft peaks form. In another bowl, mix lemon curd, sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon whipped cream; fold in remaining whipped cream. Spoon over filling. If desired, top with fresh berries. Refrigerate until serving.

MIXED BERRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Let pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray. For pastry shells, unroll pie crusts. Use a 3-1/2-to 4-inch round cutter to cut 6 rounds from each crust. Press rounds into prepared muffin cups, pleating to fit.
• For tartlet filling, in a medium bowl combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch; stir in berries and lemon juice. Spoon berry mixture into pastry shells. Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully remove tartlets from muffin cups; cool completely on wire rack.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine whipping cream, lemon curd, 1 teaspoon sugar, and vanilla; beat with wire whisk or with electric mixer on medium speed until cream mixture mounds and is fluffy. Spoon on tarts. Garnish each tart with a mint sprig. Makes 12 servings.

CANADIAN BUTTER TARTS

Steps:

• Fill a cup with ice and water. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening to make pea-size pieces. Add the tablespoons of ice water from the cup until dough holds together. Form the dough into a ball. The dough is now complete. Put it into a plastic bag or wrap it up and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Cut the shells using a large glass or your smallest pot. You should have about 12 shells when finished. Put these shells into a greased muffin or tart pan.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Put walnuts and coconut on baking pan and roast for 5-10 minutes, until brown. Remove from oven and set temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Fill the bottom of each tart shell with about 10 raisins each.
• Whisk together sugar, egg, butter, vanilla and hot water. Add coconut and walnuts. Pour mixture into tart shells, filling 2/3 full and no more.
• Bake in 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before attempting to remove. Makes 12 tarts.

CANADIAN NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BERRY TARTS

Steps:

• SWEET PASTRY: In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, orange rind and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until crumbly.
• Whisk together eggs, water and lemon juice; drizzle over flour mixture, tossing with fork until moist enough to shape into ball (dough will be slightly sticky). Flatten into disc; wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 3 days. Let soften to room temperature before rolling.
• On generously floured pastry cloth and using stockinette-covered rolling pin, roll out half of the pastry at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3 1/2 inch rounds; ease into shallow 2 3/4 inch tart shells. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Line each tart shell with foil; fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake in 400°F oven for about 10 minutes or until light golden and firm. Remove foil and weights; let cool.
• FILLING: In bowl, combine sugar, flour and orange rind; blend in sour cream and egg yolk. Spoon about 1 tablespoons berries (mossberries or wild blueberries) into each tart shell; cover with about 1 tablespoons filling and top with 3 or 4 berries. Bake in 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. Let stand for 1 minute. Remove from pan and let cool on racks. Makes about 24 tarts.
• The Canadian Living Entertaining Cookbook.

MIXED FRUIT TART

Steps:

• For the crust: In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the salt, egg and cream; beat until incorporated. Add the flour and beat until a dough comes together. Form the dough into a disc and then press it evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; if necessary, use a piece of plastic wrap to help keep the dough from sticking. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, or freeze for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the tart crust with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until the edges of the crust look set and just barely golden, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and pie weights, and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown all over, about 20 minutes more. Cool completely.
• For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, and beat with an electric mixer until soft and very creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cream and continue beating until the mixture holds stiff peaks, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, 2 to 3 minutes more.
• Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the cooled tart shell and smooth with an offset spatula. Top with the berries.
• Combine the apricot preserves and a splash of water in a small bowl and microwave until warm, about 45 seconds. Strain through a sieve into another bowl. Gently brush or spoon the apricot glaze over the berries.
• Serve the tart immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 hours.

MIXED BERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 9-inch tart pan with cooking spray.
• Combine flour, butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse until a soft dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of the prepared pan; prick with a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edge of crust is golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool; do not turn oven off.
• Place cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar; mix until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs; blend for 1 to 2 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice; mix until incorporated. Pour mixture into cooled tart shell.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling has set, about 25 minutes. Chill thoroughly, at least 1 hour. Top with berries and garnish with mint.