Individual Berry Tarts

Yesterday I was invited to attend a get together hosted by Lydia Bakes.  I decided to make two types of little tarts, one sweet and the other savoury (recipe to come later in the week).  These Individual Berry Tarts are delish, and really simple to make.  And, if you buy pre-made pastry tarts from the supermarket, they would be a really quick treat to assemble – perfect for Christmas day.

Ingredients:
Pastry cases:
2 ¾ cups flour
1 cup icing sugar
pinch of salt
250g unsalted butter, cold, chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Filling:
500g mixed frozen berries
½ cup icing sugar
400g marscapone cheese
½ cup brown sugar
200g white chocolate melts

Method:
Pastry cases:
In a food processor, combine the flour, icing sugar and salt by pulsing the mixture in 2 second bursts.  Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the egg, lemon juice, zest and vanilla essence and pulse the mixture together, about 10 times.  The mixture should look dry and crumbly.
On a lightly floured surface, shape the mixture into a ball.  Wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, or until firm.
Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.  Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Roll the pastry mixture out to about 5mm thick.  Cut out rounds from the pastry, about 6cm in diameter (I used a drinking glass for this).  Place the pastry rounds into the prepared muffin holes and press into place.  Prick the bottom of each pastry case with a fork. 
Cut out squares of baking paper (or use muffin papers) and line each pastry case before filling each with uncooked rice or baking weights.  Place the prepared tin of pastry cases into the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes (or the fridge for 30 minutes) to become cool again and firm up. 
Bake for 10 minutes.  Take the cases out of the oven and remove the paper and baking weights before returning to the oven for a further 2-5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Filling:
Place the frozen berries in a bowl and cover with the icing sugar.  Set the berries aside to defrost, mixing regularly to ensure an even coverage of the icing sugar.  If the berries taste too tart, add more icing sugar until you are happy with the level of sweetness.
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl using 30 second bursts on high in the microwave, mixing between each burst until the chocolate is smooth.  Using a desert spoon, wave spoonful's of the chocolate over a piece of baking paper to make thin lines.  Turn the paper ninety degrees and repeat, to make a lattice effect.  Set the paper aside while the chocolate sets.
In another bowl, mix together the marscapone and the brown sugar.  Place a dollop of this mixture into each pastry case. 
Drain the berries.  Place a handful of berries on each tart. 
Break off pieces of the chocolate lattice and place into the side of each tart.
Keep the tarts refrigerated before serving.