Strawberry Custard Tarts

Ingredients and step-by-step Instructions

• THE TART PASTRY

• If you are using a Food Processor to mix the Pastry, start placing the Step Two ingredients in the food processor first, processing to smooth. Alternate adding the liquid ingredients and dry ingredients. The steps below are in the correct order for mixing by hand.

• Step One: First, Blend Dry Ingredients as follows by hand, even if using a Food Processor, to avoid the flour flying all over (smile).

• 2 cups of Trina’s Pastry Flour Mix #2
  Gluten-Free, You Can Do It -by Trina Astor-Stewart.

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon Xanthan Gum (more will make the crust too soft)

• Step Two: Cut in with a pastry cutter, blending to a coarse, mealy texture.

• ½ cup vegetable shortening

• ½ cup butter

• Step Three: Slowly add the following Liquids after slightly beating them together.

• 1/4 cup cold water

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• 1 cold egg

• Step Four: Mix all together to form a soft dough. Roll the dough into a long strip of dough and cut off equal portions that you can roll into little balls about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Spray a muffin or tart tin with a gluten-free Cooking Spray. Place each ball into the tart tin and press down in the middle with your thumb. Smooth into tart shell. Chill for 10 minutes. Or you can wrap the whole tin in plastic wrap and freeze it to bake another time.
  Bake at 350℉ for 15 minutes until edges are light brown. Let cool, and then add custard pudding filling.

• VANILLA CUSTARD PUDDING

• This is a scratch method; you can buy a Gluten Free Pudding Mix if you like. Bird’s Custard Pudding is Gluten-Free always read the ingredients list on the label.

• Step One: Blend together the following:

• 2 cups of milk

• 1 cup sugar – If possible, use Vanilla Sugar. This is sugar into which you have placed some real vanilla beans and stored them in a glass jar. Additionally, you can scrape a Vanilla Bean into the milk before heating.

• Dash of Salt

• Heat slowly in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved into the milk mixture.

• Step Two: Stir 6 tablespoons of Corn Starch into ½ cup cold water.

• Add the above thickening mixture to the hot milk mixture and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.

• Step Three: Place in a separate bowl and beat with a whisk.

• 3 egg yolks

• While whisking egg yolks with one hand, pour a small amount of hot milk mixture into the bowl and continue beating; when the mixture has enough of the hot mixture blended in so that it won’t curdle, add this to the remaining hot pudding in the saucepan and continue beating until thick and creamy. This is called “Tempering.”

• To finish the vanilla pudding, beat in;

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

• Spoon Custard into cooled tart shells.

• Top with sliced strawberries and glaze strawberries using a pastry brush to pat on the Gelatin Glaze.

• GELATIN GLAZE

• Place 1 tablespoon of unflavored gelatin into a cup.
  Add 1/4 cup cold water and let stand to ‘Bloom’ or thicken up.
  Boil 1/4 cup plain water or clear fruit juice and add to the Bloomed Gelatin to dissolve into a transparent Glaze.

• Remove tarts from the tin after filling. If you like, you can make ahead and refrigerate tarts for one day before serving. Serve plain or with a little whipped cream on the side.