Confiletas Mini Sweet Round Pastry Cases x 12

These are mini sweet tart cases: ready-baked shortcrust shells about 40mm across, twelve to a box. The pastry is lightly sweetened and 25 per cent butter, so it behaves like a biscuit under a wet filling. Use them for curd, ganache, custard and fruit. They contain wheat flour and butter, so gluten and milk are both declared, and they are not a gluten free product.

Twelve shells at 40mm is roughly one dessert course for six people at two each, or a plate of petits fours for a dinner party. They are shelf stable and keep for months in the box, which is why they are worth having in the cupboard rather than buying to order.

What is the difference between sweet and savoury pastry cases?

Sugar and butter. The sweet case is lightly sweetened and behaves like a biscuit, which is what you want under lemon curd and very much not what you want under a prawn. The savoury case is a short, neutral pastry that takes salt, cream cheese and smoked fish without arguing with them, and it is the mini savoury round case. The two sit only 3mm apart in diameter, so if you buy one box of each, mark them.

What size are these mini tart cases?

About 40mm across, twelve to a box. For scale, the savoury mini is 37mm, the mini vol-au-vent is 38mm, the medium sweet case is 55mm and comes six to a box, and the large vol-au-vent is 75mm. All five are compared in Confiletas pastry cases: which shell suits which canape.

Do you need to blind bake these tart cases?

No. They arrive baked and ready to fill. Fill them close to serving, and if the filling is wet, line the base with something fatty first, melted chocolate under a curd works well, so the pastry stays crisp.

What can I make in mini sweet tart cases?

Five, all built for this size: lemon curd and raspberry, dark chocolate ganache, passionfruit and mascarpone, pistachio cream with rose petals and salted caramel and macadamia. The rest of the range is in tarts and pastry shells.