Raspberry Lime Mini Tarts Food

RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.
• Butter one side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Spread the tart with raspberry preserves and place the raspberries, stem end down, in concentric circles. If you are making a square tart, place the raspberries in rows. Serve immediately.

RASPBERRY AND LIME CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Make shell:
• In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, butter, shortening, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse until incorporated. Add enough remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork or pulsing to incorporate, to form a dough. On a work surface with heel of hand smear dough in 3 or 4 forward motions to make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten to form a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 24.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 16- by 7-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into a 13- by 4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Chill shell, covered, 1 hour, or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 400° F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until pale golden, about 5 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack. Shell may be made 2 days ahead and kept in pan, covered, at room temperature.
• Reduce temperature to 250° F. and transfer pan to a baking sheet.
• Make custard:
• Whisk together custard ingredients.
• Pour custard into tart shell. Bake tart on baking sheet in middle of oven 30 minutes and transfer to rack to cool. (Custard will continue to set as tart cools.) Tart may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• In a small saucepan cook 1 cup raspberries and sugar over moderately low heat, mashing with a fork and stirring occasionally, 5 minutes and pour through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on solids. Discard solids and cool raspberry mixture. Remove rim of tart pan and transfer tart to a platter. Pour cooked raspberry mixture over custard and arrange remaining 2 cups raspberries on top.