Strawberry Custard Tarts

This is a quick little dessert I threw together as an excuse to enjoy the raspberry pulp left behind when making my Chambord Coulis.



Ingredients:

• one quantity of your favourite shortcrust pastry
  
• raspberry pulp reserved from juiced raspberries
  
• custard*
  
• fresh strawberries
  
• 1 oz fine dark chocolate

Notes/Substitutions/etc.:

* There are some commercially prepared tinned custards available. You will want to choose a fairly thick one if you are going this route. Alternatively, you can make your own with:

• 3 tablespoons corn starch (or custard powder)
  
• 3 tablespoons sugar
  
• 2.5 cups milk
  
• vanilla or other flavouring to suit

Directions:

Prepare pastry as per your favourite recipe, rolling out into small disks and lining the bottom and sides of tart or small muffin tins, and bake blind.
Allow pastry to cool.
Mix 1/2 cup milk with corn starch, sugar and custard flavourings.
Bring 2 cups milk to a boil, stirring to ensure even heating and avoid scorching.
(Always watch milk cooking over high heat -- it can boil over VERY QUICKLY.)
Stir hot milk into custard paste.
If custard does not thicken, return it to the milk pan and heat gently until desired thickness is attained.
Allow custard to cool partially (but not set hard).
Spread raspberry pulp onto each baked and cooled pastry shell.
Fill tarts with cooled custard.
Wash and hull raspberries and slice in half lengthwise.
Top each tart with 1/2 strawberry.
Gently melt chocolate.
Drizzle chocolate from a spoon in a zigzag line across each strawberry.