Crostate di Frutta Fresca (Italian Fresh Fruit Tartlets)

Pastry

• 200 g Plain flour
• 60 g Caster sugar
• 120 g Unsalted butter, cold
• 1 Egg

Vanilla pastry cream and topping

• 350 ml Whole milk
• 30 g Cornflour
• 50 g Caster sugar
• 2 Egg
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 medium Lemon
• 200 g Strawberry, ripe but firm
• 2 medium Kiwi, ripe but firm
• 125 g Blueberry
• 80 g Apricot jam

1. Make the pastry: put the flour and sugar in a bowl, then rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine crumbs. Beat 1 egg and mix it in to form a dough, adding a tiny splash of cold water only if needed to bring it together. Flatten into a disc and chill for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick, then cut 6 rounds and line a 6-hole muffin tin, pressing into the corners. Prick the bases with a fork and chill for 10 minutes.
3. Bake the tartlet shells for 18 to 22 minutes until lightly golden and dry to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift out and cool completely. Keep the oven on only if you need it for another batch.
4. Make the pastry cream: warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling. In a bowl, whisk the cornflour, sugar and 2 eggs until smooth, then slowly whisk in the hot milk. Return everything to the pan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes until thick and glossy.
5. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract and a little lemon zest, then squeeze in 1 tbsp lemon juice to brighten the flavour. Pour into a bowl and press a piece of baking paper directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming. Cool to room temperature, then chill for 20 minutes until set enough to pipe or spoon.
6. Prepare the fruit: hull and slice the strawberries, peel and slice the kiwi, and keep the blueberries whole. Spoon or pipe the pastry cream into the cooled tartlet shells, levelling the tops. Arrange the fruit neatly over the cream.
7. Warm the apricot jam with 1 tbsp water in a small saucepan until loose, then strain if you want a very smooth glaze. Brush a thin layer over the fruit for shine. Chill the tartlets for at least 20 minutes before serving.

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