Blackberry Mascarpone Tartlets


Start with some fresh blackberries.

Wash fresh blackberries with cool water and set to drain on towels. You’ll want to make sure they’re dry when you assemble the tarts.

Prepare the shortbread crusts  (see “As Promised … Tartlets”).

Prepare the honeyed mascarpone filling. Place the contents of one 8-ounce container of mascarpone in the bowl of a mixer. Add the zest of one lemon. Beat at low speed, drizzling in honey to taste. Add half and half to the desired consistency.

Yes, I know seems very vague, but … to make these tartlets perfect for you, you’ll have to adjust the ingredients to your own taste. I don’t like the filling too sweet, but some do.

Place the mascarpone filling into a pastry bag. In a pinch (like discovering that your very own pastry bags are all still in storage and not in your kitchen) you can use a Ziploc (or other brand) bag. Spoon the filling into the bag and pipe into the shells.

Make-shift pastry bag

The filled shells ...

Top each with a blackberry.

Make sure the jelly is very liquidy when you put it on the fruit, or you will end up with a glob, like this.

You can glaze these with any clear jelly (not jam), but apple is the most neutral. It will add a little sweetness and some shine, but will not overpower the berries and mascarpone filling.  I tried spooning a little over, drizzling a little, and using a pastry brush, but wasn’t very happy with any of the results. In hindsight, I liked the tarts better without the glaze. 

Blackberry Mascarpone Tartlets

However, if you want the perfect looking glaze, there are tools out there that will allow you to spray a glaze on the fruit, so if it’s really that important, then invest in a glaze sprayer. Then again, the glaze that is often used in this sprayer can be a chemical concoction that I personally would rather not ingest or inflict on others.

These tartlets are the perfect bite of sweet after a rich meal. They’re just sweet enough, but if you want to add a little decadence to them, you can brush a little melted dark or white chocolate in the shell before piping in the mascarpone filling.

Enjoy!

 

 

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.