These delicious bite-sized Raspberry Custard Tarts are the perfect balance of creamy vanilla custard, a sugar cookie cup crust, soft whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Whenever I make these custard filled tarts, everyone loves them!
It’s very easy to make this raspberry tarts recipe. You can make the little sugar cookie cups in advance if you like, and fill with the custard and toppings just before serving.
These little Raspberry Custard Tarts are the perfect light ending to a dinner party, a sweet dessert for celebrating a special occasion, and a delicious treat to enjoy with your afternoon tea.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious flavor: The combination of creamy custard, buttery vanilla cookie crust, whipped cream, and sweet-tart fresh raspberries is a classic pairing your friends and family will find irresistible!
Pretty presentation: The small, bite-sized tarts are not only visually appealing but are also a great option for parties or gatherings where guests can easily grab one and go.
Simple ingredients: The recipe only calls for a handful of basic ingredients that are likely already in your kitchen, making it an easy dessert to whip up at a moment’s notice.
Easy to make: The instructions are straightforward and easy to follow, so even inexperienced bakers can make these tarts with confidence.
Versatile: While the recipe calls for raspberries, you can easily swap them out for other types of fruit, such as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries, depending on your personal preference.
For a recent baby shower, I was hankering to bake something pretty and petite that would pair well with fresh raspberries. I was envisioning a crispy, sweet little tart shell filled with vanilla custard and topped with whipped cream and raspberries.
When I couldn’t find a recipe with that particular combination, I improvised. I modified my favorite sugar cookie pie crust to make the little shells, and reduced the quantities on my cream filling and topping recipes.
I topped each tiny tart with an organic raspberry. The tarts were enthusiastically received, so now I can safely share the recipe with you.
You can prepare the tart shells and custard the day before, and then all you have to do is whip the cream (up to two hours before serving) and assemble the tarts (up to an hour before serving).
These little tarts are perfect for Mother’s Day brunch, a ladies’ tea, or a sweet ending to a springtime dinner, and are also great paired with Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes.
If you love fresh berry desserts like I do, be sure to check out our recipe for Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes and Strawberry and Cream Tart, too!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make these mini tarts with raspberries:
1 pint fresh raspberries
Granulated sugar
Butter – I use salted butter because our family likes the flavor, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.
All purpose flour
Salt – table salt or sea salt will dissolve best in this recipe.
Milk – whole milk or 2% milk will work best.
Vanilla extract
3 egg yolks – Large eggs work best in this recipe.
Heavy cream – Look for the words “heavy cream” on the container, which will help the cream whip up nice and thick.
Powdered sugar – also called confectioners’ sugar.
Fresh mint sprigs – Optional, for garnish.
Equipment You’ll Need
Medium saucepan
Whisk
Wax paper
Mini tart pan or mini muffin pan
Cooling rack
Large bowl
Stand mixer or electric mixer
Step by Step Directions
To make the sugar cookie tart shells, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a mini tart pan or mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light. Beat in flour, salt, milk and vanilla, until mixture is moist and crumbly.
Roll the dough into balls that are 1 heaping teaspoon each. Press the balls into the prepared mini tart pan or mini muffin pan and work the dough until it is pressed thin and up the sides of the pan about 3/4 inch.
PRO COOKING TIP: You can use a spoon handle or a small pestle to press the indentation into the dough if you wish.
You should have enough dough to make about 28-30 tarts. Prick the bottom of each tart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just barely golden on top.
To make the custard filling, heat the milk in a heavy saucepan over a medium-high heat until bubbles appear around edge.
Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with wire whisk or mixer until pale yellow and thick. Beat in flour and dash of salt until well mixed. Gradually beat in hot milk; pour all back into saucepan.
Cook, whisking constantly, over moderately high heat until mixture thickens and comes to boiling, lower heat. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, over low heat, whisking constantly. Mixture will be quite thick.
Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Place a piece of wax paper directly on surface of filling to prevent skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours.
To make the whipped cream topping, chill a metal mixing bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Whip the cream in the chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar just until the cream forms stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and whip just until combined.
To assemble the tarts, spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons custard filling into each mini tart shell. Use a teaspoon to put a generous dollop of whipped cream on each tart. (You may have some filling and topping left over. Feel free to eat this directly from the bowl as I did.)
Top with a fresh raspberry, and arrange on a platter. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and additional raspberries. Makes about 24 tarts.
Recipe Variations
You can substitute these fruits to vary the flavors and use seasonal produce:
Blueberry Tarts – Substitute fresh blueberries for the raspberries, and top each tart with 2-3 fresh berries.
Blackberry Tarts – Use fresh blackberries instead of raspberries to top the mini tarts.
Strawberry Tarts – Top each custard top with either 1 medium strawberry or half of one large strawberry.
Fresh Cherry Tarts – Substitute one or two pitted cherries for each raspberry to top the tarts.
Storing the Raspberry Tarts
Store leftover tarts, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
You can make the vanilla custard filling in advance and store, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can also make the sugar cookie shells in advance and store, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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Mini Raspberry Custard Tarts
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- Whisk
- Wax paper
- Mini tart pan (or mini muffin pan)
- cooling rack
- Large mixing bowl
- stand mixer (or electric mixer)
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Custard
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
For the Sugar Cookie Tart Shells
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Whipped Cream Topping
- 3/4 cup chilled heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
To Make the Raspberry Tarts
- 1 pint fresh raspberries, gently washed and dried
- fresh mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
To Make the Vanilla Custard
- Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with wire whisk or mixer until pale yellow and thick. Beat in flour and salt until well mixed.
- In a heavy saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat until bubbles appear around edge.
- In a slow stream, pour hot milk into flour mixture, whisking constantly, until combined. Pour the mixture back into saucepan.
- Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boiling, lower heat. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, over low heat, whisking constantly. Mixture will be quite thick. Remove from heat.
- Stir in butter and vanilla until combined. Transfer to a bowl, and place a piece of wax paper directly on surface of filling to prevent skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
To Make the Sugar Cookie Tart Shells
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a mini tart pan or mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light. Beat in flour, salt, milk and vanilla, until mixture is moist and crumbly.
- Roll the dough into balls that are 1 heaping teaspoon each. Press the balls into the prepared mini tart pan or mini muffin pan and work the dough until it is pressed thin and up the sides of the pan about 3/4 inch. You can use a spoon handle to press the indentation into the dough if you wish. You should have enough dough to make about 28-30 tarts. Prick the bottom of each tart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just barely golden on top. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack to room temperature.
To Make the Whipped Cream Topping
- Chill a metal mixing bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Whip the cream in the chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar just until the cream forms stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and whip just until combined.
To Assemble the Raspberry Custard Tarts
- Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons custard filling into each mini tart shell. Use a teaspoon to put a generous dollop of whipped cream on each tart. (You may have some filling and topping left over.) Top each tart with a fresh raspberry, and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with additional berries and fresh mint sprigs. Makes about 24 to 28 tarts.
Notes
Nutrition
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Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
I like that these are a little indulgence with built in portion control (hopefully).
I loved these; they are as delicious to eat as they are beautiful to look at, and definitely worth making!
This recipe is best for kiddie parties.. Canapes like this is what the kids love, most especially it is sweet. Delicious!
Those look absolutely delicious. I am going to have to make some to try here at home tonight. I can’t wait!
Love these Mini Raspberry Custard Tart.Looks delicious.Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Tart is one of my favorite desserts. Thank you for sharing this.
This is so irresistible. I love tarts!
It may have been said man can not live on bread alone…but I’d be willing to attempt to live on these for a while. They look amazing!!!
This tiny dessert looks so delicious and I look forward to attempting it. I am more of a cook than a baker, so I hope I can pull this off.