Mini Blueberry Tarts - A Perfect 4th of July Treat

Anyone who has known me for the past few years or reads my recipe blogs, is well aware that I love to bake. There is something truly intimate about kneading that dough or to feel the ingredients come together into a delicious batter and always magical to watch those transform inside the oven and take that the perfect shape. You also may have noticed that I prefer the "from scratch" ideas without over complicating it. I know a blueberry tart sounds rather familiar and simple thing to make for some of you but for someone who has never tried making tarts before, a certain amount of apprehension is bound to accompany the excitement of making it. So it needs some kind of push to finally make up your mind and get set to go. For me that push was making a game day treat for the COPA America Centenario Finals and also a trial run for the upcoming 4th of July weekend. I knew I would make something with blueberries not only because I had a box of them in my fridge but also it would go perfectly go well with the 4th of July color themes. Thus, the attempt and voila... deliciously successful.

As I mentioned it was a trial run so I did not care to take step by step pictures which I always do, but it came out so well that I can not wait to share it till I make again the coming weekend. I apologize for that, but I promise to take you through every detail in this recipe and you should not have any problems in making it. Still if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in your comments and I shall be more than happy to answer them.

Mini Blueberry Tarts

You'll need a cupcake tray for baking the tarts.
This recipe has three parts, the crust, the filling and the topping.

INGREDIENTS: (For 6 tarts)

For the Crust

All purpose flour: 1 cup
Butter (melted) : 1/2 cup
Egg: 1
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp
Baking powder: 1/4 tsp
Salt: 1/2 tsp

For the Filling

Blueberries: 6 oz / 170 gm
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp

For the Topping

Graham cracker: 4 (2 oz/ 60 gm)
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Butter (melted): 1/4 cup

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Prepare the crust.

• Pre-heat the oven at 350 F.
• Whip the egg and butter together.
• Add vanilla extract, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
• Knead into a tough dough. Not too tough to roll, sprinkle some water and knead if it gets too tough.
• Cover the dough and let it rest to 10 minutes.
• Make six portions of the dough and roll them out thinly.
• Place the rolled sheets layering the inside of the greased cupcake molds. Cut out the extras that come outside the cups.
• Make some holes by poking the crust with the help of a fork.
• Bake for 6 to 7 minutes at 350 F,

Step 2 : Prepare the filling.

• Heat a non-stick pan.
• Add the blueberries and sugar. Cook till the sugar melts berries start to break down.
• Turn off heat and set aside.

Step 3 : Prepare the topping.

• Grind the graham crackers.
• Mix in the sugar and butter to it to get a wet sand like texture.

Now the final steps:

1. Take out the baking pan and fill the cups with the blueberry filling. (You may save some syrup from it for later use in garnishing)
2. Top the filling with the graham cracker mixture.
3. Bake it for 10 minutes at 350 F.

Take the tarts out of the mold. They should come out easily.  Finally, garnish them by drizzling some blueberry syrup that you saved on top.

Enjoy this petite dessert!

Photographs by Swakshar Ghosh.