Vegan Strawberry Tartlets

These strawberry tartlets are made with a flaky shortcrust pastry and a velvety strawberry and coconut cream filling. Top with fresh seasonal strawberries for a delightful summer dessert.

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Summer is coming to an end, so make the most of this seasons final strawberries by baking these strawberry-packed tartlets. These sensational strawberry tarts are easy to make with mini tart shells and a creamy strawberry filling - they're the perfect summer treat to enjoy with family and friends.

How does it taste?

Who doesn’t love strawberries and cream?! Imagine both of them combined together to create a sweet, velvety filling, and team this up with a flaky shortcrust pastry and you have a dessert that is sure to please everyone.

Optional Garnish

I’ve topped these tartlets with fresh strawberries for a pop of colour and extra texture, but you can top it with addition fruits and berries of your choice.

How to store Strawberry tartlets

These tartlets are best eaten on the day they're baked, but they taste just as good the following day. If you’re not serving them right away, you can store them in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

Can these tartlets be frozen?

I wouldn't recommend freezing these tartlets as the texture of the custard will become too firm and the pastry will lose it's flakiness.

Can I use store-bought shortcrust pastry for these tartlets?

Yes, ready-to-roll shortcrust pastry can be used instead of making your own. If you want to save even more time, you could use a ready baked pastry crust, but I promise you it won’t taste as good as a homemade tart crust.

What tins to use

I'd recommend using 6 mini (4 inch) tart tins with a removable bottom. The removable bottom makes it much easier to remove the crust from the tin once it's been baked.

Strawberry tartlets ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need for this recipe – consider it your shopping list!

For the Shortcrust pastry:

Plain flour: Used to make the vegan shortcrust pastry.

Caster Sugar: The caster sugar will give the shortcrust pastry a subtle sweetness. You could

use granulated or icing sugar instead of caster sugar.

Vegan block butter: I used the Flora vegan butter block, but ant plant-based butter will do. Using a block butter will give the shortcrust pastry a light and crumbly texture. I wouldn’t recommend using margarine as it won’t create the same outcome.

Sunflower or Vegetable oil: I find that adding a bit of oil to the dough helps to give to shortcrust pastry a flaky texture.

For the filling:

Icing Sugar: I've used caster sugar as it dissolves faster than granulated sugar. I wouldn't recommend using fruit syrups as they'll darken the colour of the filling.

Coconut cream: I'd recommend using a thick coconut cream, but if you're using coconut milk instead, make sure to store the can of coconut milk in the fridge for at least an hour before using it; you'll find the solids and liquid have separated, so drain away the liquid and use only the thick coconut milk to make the custard.

Lemon juice: The lemon juice helps to balance out the sweetness and also brings out the tartness of the strawberries.

Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to thicken and set the filling.

Vanilla extract: The vanilla extract gives the custard a lovely flavour and aroma.

Almond milk: I've used almond milk, but any plant based milk will do.

How to make Strawberry tartlets

STEP 1:

To make the shortcrust pastry, place the flour, icing sugar, salt, vegan butter, sunflower oil, and 2-3 tbsp cold water in a large bowl & mix until the ingredients start to come together. Knead the dough for a few minutes until a smooth dough has formed. Cover the dough with cling film & place in fridge to chill for 15 mins.

STEP 2:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F/gas mark 4. Divide the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough to create a small pastry disc big enough to fit the tartlet tin. Lift the dough away and place into the tartlet tin and repeat this process with the remaining bits of dough. Press the edges down, trim away the excess dough and prick the base of the pastry case with a fork. Line the individual pastry cases with a piece of baking paper. To make it easier to remove the baking beans, make sure that the baking paper is large enough to extend out from the sides of the pastry cases. Fill the lined pastry cases with baking beans, and then place them in the oven to bake for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, remove the baking paper and baking beans, and bake for 5 more minutes until lightly golden

STEP 3:

To make the filling, mix the cornstarch with the almond milk and add it to a saucepan along with the coconut cream, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and strawberry puree. Simmer on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the filling starts to thicken to resemble a thick custard consistency. Make sure to whisk continually at this point to prevent any lumps from forming. This step is optional, but if you’d like the colour of the filling to be more vibrant, you can stir some pink vegan food colouring into the mixture.

STEP 4:

Pour the filling into the cooked pastry cases and leave them to cool down at room temperature for 15 minutes, then place the tartlets into the fridge for around 1 hour until the filling has set. Once the filling has set, remove the tartlets from the fridge, top with fresh strawberries and serve at room temperature.

Notes and Tips

• I’d recommend you use a tart tin with a Removable loose Bottom so that the tarts are easier to remove once they're baked.

• I recommend using the gram measurements, rather than the cup conversions. When it comes to baking, accuracy is key, and cup conversions are never as accurate as grams.

• For the best, crispy pastry, make sure that you don’t overwork the dough. Before rolling the dough out, place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

• When rolling out the dough, make sure to keep it about ½ cm thick – if the pastry is too thick, it won’t cook through, and it’ll be hard to slice.

• Make sure your vegan butter and milk are chilled when preparing the shortcrust pastry as it’ll give it a crisper texture when baked.

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