These tasty little tarts are a nod to my Scottish heritage. The combination of coconut and raspberry is a match made in heaven. Or Aberdeen, where my Granny was born.
I like to make pastry with some butter but in the case of tarts, since they’re hand held, I prefer to use just lard. Butter pastry is softer so by using lard you’ll have a sturdier tart shell. You don’t want to lose any of the yummy filling to a broken tart.
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Make up your dough and chill it before rolling out for best results. These cute little individual tart tins are the perfect size for traditional tarts. They actually look so professional that some people might not believe you made them yourself. But they’re actually pretty easy to work with. Cut circles slightly wider than the diameter of the tart tin and drop in the dough, pressing gently against the inside. Then scrape off any overhanging bits with your thumb. You’ll have more than enough dough. Freeze the leftovers to make more tarts another time.
If you don’t have tart tins you can use muffin tins. You’ll end up with about 12 Coconut Raspberry Tarts that are a little larger than the pictured tarts. You’ll need to find something large enough to cut wider circles. Martini glasses are usually perfect. If you’re not comfortable making your own pastry, don’t sweat it. You can buy pre made tart shells that are ready to bake. Just check the instructions on the package for cooking time and temperature as it may be slightly different than my recipe.
Add a heaping teaspoon of raspberry jam to each tart shell. Then mix up the coconut filling and add about a tablespoon or so over top. Don’t over fill the tart shells because the filling expands during baking. If you run out of coconut filling and still have some empty tart shells you can fill them with extra jam. Simple solution!
Pies and tarts like to be baked in the lower part of the oven. That’s because you want the pastry to be fully cooked from the bottom without overcooking the filling. Something I’ve learned from experience is to make sure your racks are in the position you want them before preheating the oven. And, I’ve read recently that many ovens aren’t quite at the set temperature when the preheat setting turns off. It’s suggested to wait a few extra minutes just to be sure.
Remove your tarts from the tart tins when they’re cool enough to handle. Leaving them in the metal tins may allow steam to soften the pastry bottom. Fresh tarts can be left on the counter at room temperature for several hours.
If you make Coconut Raspberry Tarts, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Coconut Raspberry Tarts
Ingredients
Tart Pastry
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour plus extra for rolling pastry
- ½ cup cold lard, cut into chunks
- ¼ cup very cold water
- pinch of salt
Coconut Raspberry Filling
- 1 ¼ cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 18 tsp raspberry jam heaping teaspoons
Instructions
- Add flour, salt and lard to a food processor. Pulse quickly in short bursts until lard is broken down and some pieces are about the size of peas.
- Add water in spoonfuls, pulsing after each entry, until most of the dough is holding together. You may need a little more or less water.
- Dump contents of food processor onto plastic wrap or parchment paper. Press into a disk, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
- Roll dough on a floured surface until about ⅛ inch or ¼ centimetre thick. Using a thin glass or round cutter, cut circles slightly larger than the diameter or the tart tin openings. Press remaining dough together, roll again and continue to cut circles until there are enough for each tart.
- Lower circles into tart tins and press gently into the sides to make the shape. Scrape off extra pastry for a clean top. Refrigerate tart shells if filling is not made yet.
- Melt butter in large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly before adding coconut and remaining filling ingredients, except for jam. Mix well.
- Add 1 heaping teaspoon of jam to bottom of each tart. Top with 1 heaping Tbsp of coconut filling. If there are extra tart shells, they can be filled with jam.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until pastry is golden and filling is browning and puffed.
- Cool sheet pan on a wire rack, then remove tarts when cool enough to handle.
I love the combination of raspberry and coconut. Yum!
I agree with Julie! I love both raspberries and coconut so that’s a win win! Where did you find the tart tins?
Found the tins on Amazon. They weren’t expensive and I was happy with the quality!
These remind me of my Gramma! Looking forward to baking these sometime.
Maybe you’ll have enough to share!
I’d like to make these for a cookie exchange. Can anyone tell me how to store these, can they be frozen?
Yes, they can be frozen. If you freeze them on a baking sheet without touching each other and cover with plastic bags, they should be good. Once they’re thawed you can pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes or so to freshen them up. If you try this, let us all know how they were!