• Start by making the tart dough. In a food processor, add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt, and mix until combined.
• Add the cold cubed butter, and blend until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. If you don't have a food processor, you can do it by hand, mixing the cold butter into the flour mixture. Make sure that your hands are cold.
• Then, add the egg, and the vanilla extract and mix until a dough forms. Try not to overmix the dough.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
• Transfer the dough onto a clean floured surface and roll it with a rolling pin into a rectangle.
• Use a cookie cutter or a round bowl (1 inch larger than the mini tart pans) and cut small rounds of the pastry.
• Place the pastry inside the mini tart pans and press it down using your clean hands.
• Cut off the extra edges. Make holes in the bottom of the pan with a fork and place them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
• Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let it cool while making the filling.

Make the pastry cream

• Place a saucepan over high heat and fill it with the milk and vanilla extract. Let it simmer, and remove it from the heat. Scoop ¼ cup of the milk and set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, add the sugar and cornflour. Mix with a whisk until combined. Add the egg yolks and mix.
• Gradually add the ¼ cup of milk and mix constantly with a whisk. This step is used to temper the egg yolks and avoid them from cooking too fast.
• Move the saucepan with the milk to the stovetop over low heat and add the egg yolk mixture into the milk mixing constantly with a whisk.
• Mix over medium-low heat and mix constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens. Don't increase the heat, be patient it will be worth it!
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap tightly. Place the bowl in the fridge. to set and cool for a few hours.
• Now it's time to assemble the tarts! Transfer the pastry cream into a piping bag with a round tip. Pipe the custard inside the mini tart shells, and top the cream with washed and dried berries or fruit of your choice.
• Optional: Make a simple glaze by mixing 1 tablespoon of apricot jam with ½ teaspoon of water and brush the fruit with the glaze.