This is a very simple recipe and the beauty lies in the details. Whenever I make anything with red fruits, I always take care to wash them when they are still whole so that no water penetrates the fruit, diluting the flavor. I also love drawing out some of the wonderful juices and using that as part of this dessert. The tart shells and strawberry mix can be made in advance but do not fill the shells with the sour cream and strawberries until JUST before serving. The juice from the strawberries makes them soggy quickly but they are delicious and fresh!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 12 tartlets |
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries, washed, dried and hulled
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons orange juice, from concentrate (recommended Tropicana) not fresh squeezed
- Nonstick spray
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Put the strawberries on a flat surface and cut them, widthwise, into 1/4-inch thick slices. The slices should be thin enough to bend slightly when you cut them.
- Using a vegetable peeler and, with a light touch, remove the zest from half of the lemon. Try to remove the zest in small pieces and leave the pith (the white part) behind. Juice the lemon and the lime and add them to a bowl along with the zest, sugar and strawberries. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, sift the powdered sugar and flour into a medium bowl. Use your hands to push the sugar and flour through the strainer to make it easier. Stir in the melted butter and the orange juice. Stir to blend.
- Invert a baking sheet and put it on a flat surface. Coat it with a thin layer of nonstick spray as an added precaution against sticking. Spoon a generous teaspoon of the batter near the corner of the sheet and use a small offset spatula to spread it thinly into a small, imperfect oval. Take care to leave space between each oval because they will spread when they are baked. You should be able to fit about 12 on the tray.
- Bake them in the oven until light brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven. Put the tray by the inverted muffin tin. Use the offset spatula to lift the shells, 1 by 1, off the tray. Using your fingers, put a shell over the muffin tin bottom, pressing down to create a tart shell. The sides will overlap or be higher than the muffin hole. Your goal is to make a tart shell to fill with the strawberries. Repeat with the remaining shells. Allow them to cool.
- Strain the liquid from the strawberries and pour it into a small pan. Reduce over medium heat until it becomes syrupy and thick. Pour it back over the strawberries and toss to blend. Return to the refrigerator to chill again. When ready to serve, put a small dollop of sour cream in the bottom of each shell and top with some of the strawberries. Sprinkle with a touch of granulated sugar. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 110 |
| Total Fat | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 16 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 10 mg |
| Sodium | 5 mg |
Reviews
Tart shells were a disaster! Never had anything fail so badly. Took them out and they scrunched up. Waited and they were, hard as a rock. Soaked my pan to pick off shell pieces. Spent 1/2 hour. Waste of time, energy. Reminded me of when I was 12 and how frustrating it was when a recipe didn’t work out. It’s been 60 years since I’ve had such a disaster
I just finished making this awsome dessert. Regarding the cookie baskets, here are a few tips. First, I used parchment paper on the back side of my pan. When taking them out, I waited for the edges to get brown about halfway to the center. Let them sit for a little while. When you try to take them off, if they start to “tear”, you are starting too soon. As soon as you take them off, put directly on the muffin tin for shaping. I only did 4 at a time and only destroyed one of the entire batch. Just be careful. They are really worth the effort.
Excellent, but like several of the viewers observed, the shells can be difficult to work with. I make fortune cookies which are spread thin like the shells in this recipe. I have found that speed is the answer to successful removal. Once they begin to cool, removing can be a challenge. I sometimes put them back in the oven for a minute to warm them again, and I also bake only four at a time. While the four are baking, I make another tray to bake while I remove the first batch and shape them.
This recipe was so easy. I did it just like the video and the shells turned out perfect and were easy to remove. Very little clean up. I will be making these again. Absolutely yummy!!!!
Baking is my specialty and I followed this recipe to the letter, but the shells were a sticky disaster – they were glued to the baking sheet despite the cooking spray. I was so frustrated I almost threw out the pan. The strawberries were delicious, however. I wound up serving them up shortcake style with some pound cake and whipped cream I had on hand.
the crispy shells are the best part, very flavorful, but a little hard to remove, don’t wait till the shell is light brown it will dry darker when cooling.
These strawberry tarts are SO GOOD. But the shells are really hard to work with , I say just make the strawberry recipe without the shells.
Yes, it is too bad they stick so bad. You’re doing noting wrong. But, I did just make this on parchment paper and they did come off quite easily. They won’t look the same but it works. I made them a little thicker so they would hold up better and a little longer. There is no easy way around this one but the parchment did work for me. Just let them sit a little bit when they come out of the oven. I havn’t tried them thinner yet. They are really pretty but with the hassel of the sticking who really wants to be bothered all that often. The parchment is an alternative.
How can something so simple be so good.
These tartlets are like a flavor burst in your mouth. Not the easiest shells to work with, but just a little bit of practice…WELL worth the effort! Thanks, Alex!