We’ve had these 3 boxes of mini filo tart shells in our freezer since April (I bought them to make something for K’s bday but he wanted to use another shell for what I made, so these just sat around). Yesterday was the perfect day to use them up–fruit was on sale. (yay, emptying freezer!)

ingredients

• blueberries
• cherries
• almond paste
• 3 T butter
• a splash of milk or coconut milk (what I used)
• 2 T powdered sugar
• filo tart shells (I used mini shells)
• 1 t vanilla
• a mini star shaped cutter (if you wish) and a cherry pitter (really not essential)

The original method

I’m posting two versions–the method I actually used, and one I think might be easier. Why? I cooked the fruit with a bit of almond paste (no cream) first, and thought it was a little bland, so I made an almond cream, pulled the fruit out, piped it in, and replaced the fruit. This method tasted amazing, but was a bit tedious, and the fruit wasn’t bright (as it was when it was raw).

1. Arrange filo tart shells on a baking pan lined with parchment
2. Make an almond pastry cream by combining a nub of almond paste (3 inches?), butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Add milk/coconut milk to thin out a little bit. fill into a pastry bag
3. Add a small nub of almond paste to each tart shell–you just want a thin bit to taste.
4. pit cherries. slice cherries into small bits.
5. add 3 blueberries and cherries on top.
6. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes (read filo package for exact time)
7. cool for 10 mins
8. remove fruit. pipe in pastry cream and replace fruit
9. I cut out mini stars from almond paste and placed one in each tart. So you have the flag in a tart shell: red=cherries, white=shell and almond paste star, blue=blueberries,

option 2: with almond cream and fresh fruit, or…fruit cooked separately

1. bake tart shells as directed
2. let cool
3. add nub of almond paste to each shell
4. make almond pastry cream. pipe in pastry cream
5. either cook fruit on stove for a few mins (you don’t want jam or compote) or top with raw fruit (still will be really tasty)