These always seemed to be on the menu for large garden parties at Buckingham Palace. It took forever to place three raspberries of the same size on each tartlet and then to “paint” each one with raspberry jam. Sometimes we would put half a strawberry on the tartlets brushed with raspberry jam, or mandarin orange segments, brushed with apricot jam. Any leftover pastry can be kept in the refrigerator for at least four weeks.
Pastry
1 cup sugar
1 stick (½ cup) plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 egg
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
Filling
1¾ cups milk
¼ cup heavy cream
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
¼ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 cups fresh raspberries
1 (12-ounce) jar seedless raspberry jam
1. For the pastry, cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla paste in a mixing bowl until pale. Beat in the egg until combined. Fold in the flour, form the dough into a ball, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. For the filling, bring the milk and cream to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over a high heat. Place the whole eggs, egg yolks, cornstarch, vanilla, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, and whisk together. Pour the boiling milk and cream over the egg mixture, and whisk together. Return the mixture to the pan, and whisk over a low heat until the mix starts to thicken. Pour into a small container, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold.
3. Roll out the pastry to about ⅛ inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles to line 24 (2-inch) tartlet molds. Bake the pastry circles in the center of the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the pastry to cool slightly before removing from the molds to a cooling rack.
4. Spoon ½ teaspoon of filling into each tartlet, and arrange three raspberries side by side on top of the filling. Heat the jam in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the jam dissolves. Using a pastry brush, brush each of the raspberries with the jam, allowing a little to run into the tartlet.
MAKES 24 INDIVIDUAL TARTLETS