Rustic Coconut Tarts with Raspberry Sauce

On Monday afternoon my daughter came home from school with a piece of cardboard covered in beautiful pink and red hearts that she had carefully painted. I looked at her artwork - hearts... love... wait a second, it's Valentine's Day on Friday! Truth be told, I believe in celebrating and appreciating love throughout the year and not just splurging on the 14th of February, but I was reminded of this recipe which I will be sharing today. 

Now whether you are planning a gourmet dinner for two this Friday at or not, this is an easy dessert, and unlike other tarts you don't need to fiddle around trying to get your pastry cases absolutely perfect. This tart is perfect in it's imperfection! 

Recipe note: you will see that I have not given an exact amount of castor sugar for the sauce as I have found in the past that tastes vary greatly. I prefer quite a sharp taste, where as I am sure that many others would like their sauce a little sweeter. Start with a 1/4 cup of sugar, have a taste and adjust accordingly. 

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RUSTIC COCONUT TARTS 

with RASPBERRY SAUCE

Makes 12 mini tarts

4 egg yolks
80g castor sugar
40g plain flour
500ml coconut milk
flour for dusting
1 x 400g roll puff pastry
300g frozen raspberries
30ml water
castor sugar for the sauce, to taste

Step 1.) Whisk the egg yolks and castor sugar together until pale and creamy. Sift in the flour and whisk in.

Step 2.) Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan just until boiling point. Remove from the heat. Slowly add half of the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking continuously.

Step 3.) Add this egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan of remaining coconut milk. Bring to the boil while whisking. Allow to cook for a minute until thickened, then remove from the heat.

Step 4.) Transfer the custard to a clean bowl. Gently press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and set aside to cool.

Step 5.) Preheat your oven to 200°C. Dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll out the puff pastry. Cut out 12 x 10-12cm rounds, (they should be big enough to line regular sized muffin cups with some pastry sticking out). Grease a muffin tray and line each cup with a pastry round. 

Step 6.) Divide the custard between the 12 cases. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling is golden and has set. It may still be a little wobbly and will sink on cooling! Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Step 7.) While the tarts are baking you can prepare the sauce. Place the raspberries, water and a 1/4 cup of castor sugar in a pot and stir over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Add additional castor sugar to taste and continue to stir until the sauce has thickened. Check the sweetness level one last time, then remove from the heat. Cool slightly before blitzing in a food processor. Pop into a jug or a bowl to serve with the tarts.