I needed a quick dessert for some unexpected guests. Filo pastry is a store cupboard ingredient that I always have in the fridge or freezer and you will always find quark and cream in my fridge as well as fresh fruit. I have used strawberries for this but any berries will work in this or you could try peaches or apricots.

Strawberry Filo Tartlets

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sheets of filo pastry
• 30g butter, melted
• 1 gelatine leaf, soaked in cold water (see Notes)
• 250g strawberries
• 100ml double cream
• 250g Quark
• 30g caster sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 50g dark chocolate

METHOD

1. Grease a 6-hole muffin tin and preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.
2. Brush the filo pastry sheets with the melted butter.
3. Cut each sheet into 12 pieces and use to line the muffin tins in overlapping layers until all the pieces have been used up.
4. Bake the cases in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until crisp and golden.
5. Transfer the Filo cases to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. Keep aside 6 small strawberries. Wash and hull the remaining berries and cut into small cubes.
7. In a bowl beat together the quark, sugar and vanilla essence.
8. In a separate bowl beat 80ml of the cream until thick.
9. Heat the remaining cream until hot but not boiling then add the squeezed out gelatine to dissolve. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
10. Add 2 tbsp of the beaten cream into the gelatine mixture then stir this mixture back into the cream.
11. Fold the cream into the quark mixture followed by the chopped strawberries.
12. Divide the strawberry filling between the filo cases and chill for 2 hours.
13. Chop the chocolate and melt in the microwave in 30 seconds bursts.
14. Dip the reserved strawberries into the chocolate and leave to set.
15. Decorate each tartlet with a chocolate covered strawberry.

Note: I have used Dr. Oetker Diamond Leaf Gelatine. If you are using a different brand, please refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.