One trick I learned a year ago was using upside down muffin pans to bake tart shells on. Prior to that, when I wanted to make mini tarts with muffin pans, I was lining the inside of muffin pans with butter/oil and flour, and then pressing the dough into them. However, doing this meant that the unmolding of them could be a disaster if the shells stuck inside of the pans. That and weighing them down with parchment and pie weights, when you are baking tartlets that small, it is finnicky and time consuming. So, the upside-down pan trick saved a ton of time. In the case for these tarts, I used upside down canele molds, just to give them a more sea shell-like appearance. The important thing here is making sure that the center of your dough, when you cut it out into disks, is aligned perfectly with the mold you are resting it on. I like to give my dough about 1/2 an inch more to hang off of the sides of the mold, so that as it bakes and falls down around the mold, it will wrap up around the edges nicely. By centering the dough, you make sure that you end up with perfectly shaped cups of baked tart, instead of semi lop-sided shells. That and it is way easier to remove a baked tart shell by picking it up, as opposed to needing to pry it out and hope that you don’t break it into pieces.

That long tart shell rant aside, I needed a couple more additions for my blue and white dessert tower, and the idea of cute little fruit tarts was perfect for that aesthetic. Blueberries made sense, and originally, I wanted to do lemon, but I shifted to using yuzu, since I had a giant jar of yuja marmalade(yuzu-honey marmalade, popularly consumed in Korea), and yuzu is fancier than lemon. It’s for an afternoon tea, so fancy is a priority here. The tart shells were dyed blue naturally with blue spirulina, and I filled them with a yuzu-blueberry compote. On top of that is a yuzu namelaka, which is a whipped ganache-like mousse, made with Yuzu Inspiration, or yuzu-flavored white chocolate. I piped the namelaka in the same way as a Mont Blanc, which is a French chestnut dessert that features chestnut cream that is piped through a spaghetti-like piping tip on top of either a cake or shortbread. I wanted the namelaka to be presented that way just to give the tarts a more distinctive look compared to what you would normally expect of a blueberry-citrus tartlet. These tartlets are relatively easy to make, and were a ton of fun to eat, because you can eat through them in two bites!

Makes 6-8 tartlets:
For the yuzu namelaka:
1oz Yuzu Inspiration
1oz white chocolate
4oz heavy cream, in two parts
a pinch of salt
1 tsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water

In a pot on medium heat, melt down the Yuzu Inspiration and white chocolate with one part of the cream, a pinch of salt, and the gelatin powder, stirring constantly to prevent the bottom of the pot from burning. Allow the mixture to cool down in the refrigerator for 1 hour, and then mix in the remaining heavy cream using a rubber spatula. Transfer to a piping bag with a Mont Blanc tip.

For the shortbread:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 tbsp granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp blue spirulina or butterfly pea powder

In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until they reach a silky consistency. Then add to that the vanilla, and stir until incorporated as well. Finally, fold the flour, cornstarch, and blue spirulina/butterfly pea powder into the butter to form your dough. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Then on a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 12 4-inch rounds of dough, rerolling the dough as necessary. Place the dough onto the backs of an upside down mini cupcake tin(I used a silicone canele mold, but cupcake tins are a lot easier to come by!). Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the baked shells to cool slightly before inverting the tin and storing them in an airtight container.

For the blueberry-yuzu compote:
1 pint fresh blueberries, reserving 6-8 berries for garnish
3 tbsp yuja marmalade
1 tbsp yuzu juice
a pinch of salt

In a pot on medium heat, cook down everything, stirring constantly, until the blueberries are completely softened and the majority of the liquid has cooked out. Transfer to a heatproof container and refrigerate until cooled down.

For garnish:
Fresh blueberries

Fill each tart shell about 2/3 the way full with the compote, and then pipe on top of that the namelaka, in a circular motion, to create a small, cone-line shape on top of the tartlets. Garnish the tops with the blueberries to finish.