Vegan Pineberry Tarts
These Vegan Pineberry Tarts are a delicate dessert that is perfect for a dinner party or special occasion. Get the recipe below.
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A very special fruit tart
You’ve probably seen individual fruit tarts in the windows of upmarket bakeries and patisseries before. They are often topped with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and sometimes even kiwi slices. They are also beautifully shiny thanks to a neutral glaze added at the end. Under the glossy fruit you’ll find a custard filling inside a crisp pastry case. They are a real treat.
These Vegan Pineberry Tarts are inspired by those dainty desserts but with a lighter filling and a more delicate fruit topping – pineberries.
You probably have a couple of questions about making these tarts, including what is a pineberry and where can I get them. Let me answer them for you below.
What is a pineberry?
Pineberries are very funny looking. They look just like a strawberry but their skins are somewhere between a very pale pink and creamy white colour with red seeds.
They get their name from the fact that they tastes a little bit like pineapple.
They’re quite rare to come across. Especially in the UK. But, I’ve managed to get them a few times in Marks & Spencer which I find is one of the best UK supermarkets for stocking seasonal fruits and veggies. You can also find them at farmers markets or big markets such as Borough Market if you’re in London.
You can also buy them online from stores like Exotic Fruits.
How do you make the vegan pasty for the tart?
Learning how to make pastry is a great skill, regardless of whether you’re vegan or not. The good news is the process is exactly the same thanks to vegan substitutes now on the market.
All you need is plain flour, vegan block “butter” (like Flora or Naturli) and a little bit of plant milk to bind it all together.
The first steps of making pastry is rubbing the flour and vegan butter together until it forms small breadcrumbs. You do this by simply rubbing the fat and flour between your finger tips. It’s important to have cold hands when doing this otherwise the vegan butter will just melt. Once you’ve got to the breadcrumb texture stage, just add a little milk a tbsp at a time until it just comes together into a ball of dough.
It’s important to rest your dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge so that it firms up. This will also make it easier to roll.
Once the dough is chilled it’s as simple as rolling it out, using it to line the tart tins and then baking. There are two stages to baking the pastry: the first is “blind” baking where you cover the pastry with baking paper and baking beans; the second is removing the beads and baking paper and letting it colour slightly and get extra crisp.
Before filling you should make sure the pastry cases are completely cold but don’t be tempted to refrigerate them. Leaving them to cool at room temperature is absolutely fine.
What filling is in a vegan pineberry tart?
Because pineberries have such a sweet, floral flavour I think it’s best to keep the tart filling quite light. Rather than a thick, rich custard I’ve chosen a vanilla cream based filling. It’s made by whipping vegan cream with icing sugar and vanilla paste.
There are a couple of different vegan creams on the market. Both Elmlea Plant Based and Oatly Whipping Cream work really well.
All you need to do is whip up the cream with icing sugar and vanilla paste until it is thick enough to hold it’s shape.
When I come to fill my tarts I place the whipped cream mix in a piping bag with a large round nozzle and pipe the cream in rings in the base of the pastry case. This ensures that there is an even spread of cream in each tart.
How do you glaze the fruit tarts?
Once you’ve filled the tarts you need to top them with the pineberries and glaze them. Depending on the size of the pineberries you might want to add them to the top whole (but with their tops cut off), in halves, or even slices.
However you choose to decorate the tart with the pineberries it looks extra professional if you then glaze the top.
To do this you just need to make a really basic syrup. It needs to be just thick enough that it coats the berries and leaves a shiny finish.
Once glazed, a spring of mint finishes the tarts off nicely.
Can I make one big tart?
To turn this into a 7 inch tart you will need to double the ingredients but all of the steps are the same. You will also need to cook the case for longer (20 minutes blind baking followed by 10 without the baking beans).
The recipe
Vegan Pineberry Tarts
Equipment
- 4 tart tins
Ingredients
For the pastry cases
- 100 g plain flour
- 50 g vegan butter cut into cubes
For the filling
- 125 ml vegan cream
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
For the topping
- 8 pineberries
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
To make the pastry cases
- Add the cubes of vegan butter to a mixing bowl along with the flour and begin rubbing the vegan butter and flour between your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the plant milk a few tbsp at a time until the pastry comes together into a ball of dough.Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the pastry is resting, pre-heat your oven to 150C.
- Once chilled, dust the work surface with flour. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and place the first into the centre of your work surface and dust with a little more flour.
- Flour your rolling pin then roll out the pastry into a circle 2.cm/1” larger than the tart tin.Carefully lift it into the tin and push it into the corners and grooves.To cut off the excess pastry, roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin.
- Repeat this for each of the tarts.
- Prick the bottom of the pasty with a fork. Scrunch up 6 pieces of baking paper then place inside each pastry case. Top the baking paper with baking beans.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until beginning to go a pale golden colour.
- Remove the baking paper and baking beans and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
To make the filling
- Add the vegan cream, icing sugar (sifted) and vanilla paste into a bowl.
- Using an electric whisk, beat on high until it has become thick, fluffy and holds its shape.
- Spoon into a piping bag with a round nozzle
To decorate
- Make the glaze by adding the caster sugar and water to a small pan.
- Let the sugar dissolve then raise the heat.
- Cook until it's thick and glossy and the perfect consistency for brushing over the fruit.
- Leave the sugar syrup to cool while you decorate the tarts.
- Fill the pastry cases with the cream filling by piping circles.
- Carefully place the pineberries on top of the cream filling.
- Once the glaze is cool, carefully brush over the berries.
Nutrition
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More dessert recipes
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