Best Pina Crema Tarts Recipes

CREAMY RICOTTA TART WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3/4 cup of pine nuts, and salt until finely ground. Add the butter. Pulse dough just until it comes together.
• Place the dough into an 11-inch diameter tart pan with a removable bottom and press down to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Line the tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shell in the lower third of the oven until just set, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and pie weights. Bake until the tart shell is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
• Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the water in a small saucepan over low heat. You don't want to boil the water, you just want to heat it so that the sugar can dissolve thoroughly. Stir until the sugar dissolves and remove from heat.
• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the ricotta cheese and cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, and process until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar syrup in a thin steady stream and process until smooth.
• Pour the custard into the tart shell and bake until the filling is almost set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Scatter the remaining 3/4 cup of toasted pine nuts atop the filling. Bake until the custard is set, about 10 minutes longer. Let the tart cool completely before serving.
• The tart can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Return the tart to room temperature before serving.

PIñA COLADA TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, mix the flour and icing sugar together in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fresh breadcrumbs then mix in the egg yolks. If the pastry feels too dry to form a dough, add 2 tbsp water. Roll into a ball then flatten it out into a disc and wrap the dough in cling film, then chill for at least 30 mins.
• While the pastry is chilling, make the filling by simply mixing all of the ingredients together in a large jug or bowl. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then lift into a 23cm tart tin. Press down gently on the bottom and sides, then trim off any excess around the edges with a sharp knife. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork and put it back in the fridge for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line the tart with baking parchment that you've crumpled and re-smoothed, then put baking beans or rice on top to hold the paper down. Bake for 10 mins, then remove the tart tin from the oven. Lift out the baking beans and paper, and bake for another 20 mins until golden and crisp.
• When the pastry is cooked, remove it from the oven, pour in the pineapple mixture almost all the way to the top but leaving a small gap and bake again for 25 mins or until just set.
• Leave to cool, then remove the tart from the tin and put it in the fridge to chill for 30 mins.
• While the tart cools pour the double cream and coconut rum into a large bowl and whisk until thick and billowy. Dollop the boozy cream on top of the tart and decorate with maraschino cherries and cocktail umbrellas if you like.

PASTéIS DE NATA (PORTUGUESE CUSTARD TARTS)

Steps:

• Using a pastry brush, grease eight individual pastry tins generously with the melted butter, then chill in the fridge. Put the butter between two sheets of baking parchment, then bash and roll into a large rectangle roughly the thickness of a £1 coin. In a large bowl, mix the flour with 150ml water and a pinch of salt using a wooden spoon. Tip the dough onto a clean surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth.
• Shape the dough into a rough rectangle, cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 mins. If your butter is getting too soft, put it in the fridge to chill too. Roll the dough out into a large, thin rectangle at least twice the size of the butter. Put the butter in the middle of the dough, fold all the edges up over it to encase it, then fold the dough over itself in half.
• Roll out the dough to roughly half its original size, then fold in half, then half again to make a rectangle a quarter the size of the original. Repeat this process once more, flouring your work surface if you need to. Don't worry about being too precise here, or if the butter starts breaking through some of the layers. Cover and put the pastry in the fridge to rest for 20 mins.
• On a floured surface roll the chilled dough into a thin A3-sized rectangle, then roll it up lengthways into a tight sausage shape. Divide the pastry into three, the middle section will make your perfect looking tarts, then wrap and freeze the rest for another time. (It would also make delicious palmier biscuits if you roll it out and sprinkle with sugar.)
• Slice the pastry into 8 discs. Work the discs into the tins with your fingers, pressing and stretching them to fill the tins. If the layers start to come apart, press them back together. Chill while you make the custard.
• In a pan, warm 150ml milk with the cinnamon stick, lemon peel and half the butter until just simmering and the butter has melted. In a large bowl, sieve the cornflour and flour into the remaining milk and whisk to form a thin paste. Pour the warm milk mixture over the flour paste and leave to infuse for a few mins. Sieve the custard back into the pan, heat gently and keep stirring for 3-4 mins until it reaches the consistency of double cream. Take off the heat and blend in the remaining butter.
• Put the syrup ingredients in a frying pan and stir over a medium heat for 5 mins until you have a light, fragrant caramel. Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour in 100ml water. Return the pan to a low heat until the sugar has melted again into a syrup. Strain into a bowl.
• Slowly add half the syrup to the custard and whisk until completely blended. You can store the custard in the fridge from this point, but don't add the eggs until just before you are ready to cook the tarts. Heat your oven to 260C/240C fan/gas 8 or as high as your oven will go. Put a baking tray on the top shelf of the oven to heat up. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl, then incorporate into the custard. Pour the mixture into the pastry bases.
• Put the filled tin on the hot baking tray. Put the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 5- 8 mins, or until the custard starts to puff up. Once the custard has puffed up, turn the oven onto its grill setting and transfer the tarts to the top shelf. Grill for 1-2 mins or until caramelised - the darker the better. Remove from the oven and brush with a little of the remaining syrup. Let the tarts cool slightly in the moulds before turning out onto a cooling rack.

PINA CREMA TARTS

Steps:

• 1. Prepare Filling: Combine corn starch and cold water until dissolved, and set aside. Place entire can of pineapple, including juice, and 1 cup granulated sugar into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. Transfer mixture into a medium saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Add cornstarch liquid to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk until mixture thickens. Set aside to cool. Rinse food processor and place cream cheese and remaining ½ cup sugar and lemon zest in processor bowl. Process this until a smooth consistency. Add the egg, and process until fully incorporated. Once pineapple mixture has cooled somewhat, combine it well with the cream cheese mixture, and place into a medium bowl and refrigerate while you cut out the pie dough for the shells.
• 2. Cut Out Pie Dough: Gently roll out the ready-made pie crusts, one at a time, until flat. Using a 3-1/2" round cookie cutter, cut circles from pie dough, working along outer edges first, then the middle. Reroll scraps for an additional circle. Each pie crust makes 7, with a few scraps left. Set the remaining scraps aside. Set each circle aside onto plastic wrap lined cookie sheet. Repeat with 3 other pie crusts, placing plastic wrap between layers of circles. Now gently squeeze the remaining scraps from all 4 crusts into a ball, roll out to cut 2 more circles. You should now have 30 circles of pie dough. Place dough into the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes to chill (you can actually stop at this point, and finish at a later time if you wish).
• 3. Prepare Tarts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from refrigerator, and gently crimp and tuck each circle of pie dough into each of the 30 muffin cups, making tart shells. Divide the filling evenly between the shells, using about 1/3 cup for each shell. Do not overfill the shells. Place the 2 full muffin pans on the middle oven rack and the smaller muffin pan on top rack, centered above the larger pans below. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the shell crust is light brown. Remove from oven and place onto cooling racks for 5 minutes. Using a thin bladed knife, gently loosen the edges of each tart. Place another cooling rack on top of each muffin tin and invert tarts, releasing them from the tins. Immediately place the tarts upright onto the cooling racks. When cool, dust the tarts with powdered sugar with a strainer or a sifter.