Nothing says spring more than fresh strawberries, and these Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts are the perfect simple anytime dessert. Make them with homemade puff pastry or fast and easy with store bought!
Quite a few times in the year I make my Homemade Puff Pastry Recipe, sometimes I will make a savory Cheese and Tomato Pie or a couple of our favorite desserts, including this Puff Pastry Tiramisu or this Chocolate Pastry Braid. But this time I decided to make mushroom appetizers and these Strawberry Tarts.
Recipe Ingredients
- Puff Pastry
- Strawberries
- Sugar
- Lemon juice
Extras
- Chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar
If you prefer instead of the chocolate chips you could use Nutella, a chocolate spread, a cream cheese filling or even a little strawberry jam to give it double strawberry flavor.
Rather than making individual tarts you could make a large strawberry tart instead.
How to make a Strawberry Tart recipe
Roll out the puff pastry (either store bought or homemade) to a 1/8 inch thickness (I roll mine a bit thicker). Cut with a sharp knife or using a round cookie cutter, cut about a 3 1/2-4 inch circle. Then place each circle in the prepared muffin/tart pan, with a fork, prick each square a few times.
Blind bake the tarts. Remove the tart shells from the oven, remove paper and beans, let cool.
In a medium bowl mix together the chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice.
Place a teaspoon of the your desired spread or chocolate chips on the bottom of the pastry, then divide the strawberry mixture between the tarts.
Bake until the pastry is golden and cooked.
Once out of the oven, sprinkle with a few chips, and let cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with a little maple syrup if desired.
Can you use pie dough?
If you prefer pie dough then yes you can, this Easy Homemade Pie Dough or this Italian Pie Crust Recipe would work well. I used puff pastry because I like the crunchiness and buttery taste of the tarts. You could also use store bought pastry shells to make the recipe even faster.
Should the dough be blind baked first?
Yes it should be. Strawberries can be quite juicy so it is a good idea.
How to blind bake pastry
Place the cut outs in the prepared tart or muffin pan, prick the bottom of each tart a few times with the tongs of a fork.
Place a small piece of parchment paper on top and fill with beans, rice or even sugar, blind bake the tarts in the pre-heated oven 400F (200C), for approximately 10 minutes, remove the paper and beans, if you find that the dough is still quite raw, then bake again for about 3-5 minutes. They may have puffed up, gently flatten with a small shot glass.
What can I substitute with strawberries?
If you wish you could use fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries or even blackberries. The berries should probably be thawed first because the baking time is not very long. You could use chopped peaches or pears or even apple.
How to store them?
The baked cooled tarts should be stored in an airtight container (single layer) in the fridge or wrapped well in plastic wrap. They will keep for up to 2-3 days. Unfortunately baked fruit does not store well in the freezer.
If you do try this recipe, please let me know what you think! Enjoy.
Easy Puff Pastry Strawberry Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 roll puff pastry
- 1½ cups chopped strawberries (200-
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
EXTRAS
- 8-10 teaspoons Nutella or chocolate spread
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips*
- powdered / icing sugar for dusting
*You can use either or a combination.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375F (190C). Grease and flour or spray a medium 6 size muffin tin.
- Roll out the puff pastry (either store bought or Homemade) to a 1/8 inch thickness (I roll mine a bit thicker). Using a round cookie cutter, cut about six 3 1/2-4 inch (9-10cm) circles. Place each circle in the prepared muffin/tart pan, with a fork prick each circle a few times.
- Blind bake the tarts. Cover each shell with parchment paper and add dried beans or pie weights on top, bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove the tart shells from the oven, remove paper and beans, let cool. if you find that the dough is still quite raw, then bake again for about 3-5 minutes. They may have puffed up, gently flatten with a small shot glass.
- While the tarts are baking, in a medium bowl mix together the chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice, set aside.
- Place a teaspoon of the spread or chocolate chips on the bottom of the each pastry, then divide the strawberry filling between the tarts.
- Bake for approximately 7-10 minutes, check after about 5 minutes, if the strawberries are browning too much, then place a piece of foil like a tent over them continue baking. The tarts are done once the pastry is golden.
- Once out of the oven, sprinkle with a few chips, and let cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar before serving or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from May 23, 2020.
Charlene Richard says
Should have blind baked them first 🙁
Rosemary says
Hi Charlene, why? I never do. Let me know.
Pputri says
The bottom of my tarts are also soggy. Perhaps because of the liquid from the fruit mix when I put the strawberry in the pastry? Still tastes good though. Thank you for sharing your recipe. ❤️
Rosemary says
Hi Pputri, that probably happened because your strawberries were juicier than mine. So blind baking for even 10 minutes will help. Glad you enjoyed them though. Take care.
Jana says
An absolute fail. The pastry needs to be lightly baked first. The recipe also does not specify the size of muffin tin so the recommended 2-2.5” square was too small. But mostly, the whole thing was a disaster because of the missing instruction on pre-baking the pastry.
Rosemary says
Hi Jana, sorry it failed for you but I really don’t know why. I do say to use a medium sized muffin pan and 2 inches to 2 1/2 worked fine (there is also a video). And no you do not have to pre-bake the pastry you can if you want but it isn’t necessary. Take care.
Ann says
These are AMAZING!!!!! Every Sunday my kids and Grandkids come over for the day and I always surprise them with fun treats. These went so fast! So so good. I did not put maple syrup on them. I am making them next week for bible study and don’t plan to use maple syrup on them then either. They are perfect just the way they are.
Rosemary says
Hi Ann, thanks so much, so glad you and your kids and grand kids enjoyed them. Yes my husband needs to put maple syrup on everything. 🙂 Take care.
Francine says
Admittedly I’m not a great baker, but mine came out soggy and messy and the 2.5×2.5 pieces were not big enough for the tin.
Maybe I used too much strawberry? In the future, would it work to first bake the pastries, then add the chocolate to the hot pastries , let that melt a bit and then fill with the strawberry mixture?
Rosemary says
Hi Francine, you could blind bake the tarts for about 10-15 minutes and then continue with the recipe or you could bake them completely and finish with the chocolate melted in the hot pastry and a raw strawberry filling. 🙂
Vidara says
Tried these out and they turned out super well!! Everybody loved them 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing.
kris says
had some puff pastry leftover in the refrigerator, and quickly pulled this together. Wonderful surprise for the family.
Rosemary says
Hi Kris, thanks glad you liked it and the family.