Avocado brick pastry tartlets

Hello food lovers,

The sunny days are just around the corner and so are the aperitifs on the terrace. :-P

How about a 100% homemade savoury tartlet recipe?

Brick pastry tartlet shells, an avocado basil or mint mousse, all decorated with a cherry tomato.

Let's get started!

This recipe can be made in a vegan version.

To make 20 tartlets, you will need:

Tartlet shells

- 1 packet of 10 large brick pastry sheets

- 60g of butter (plant-based butter)

Avocado-mint mousse

- 1 avocado

- 75g of heavy cream (plant-based cream)

- 1 tsp of lime juice

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 10 turns of pepper mill

- 2 pinches of ginger powder

- 15 mint leaves

Avocado-basil mousse

- 1 avocado

- 75g of heavy cream (plant-based cream)

- 1 tsp of lime juice

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 10 turns of pepper mill

- 10 basil leaves

Decoration

- Mint leaves

- Basil leaves

- 6 small cherry tomatoes

In this recipe, I offer you two kinds of avocado mousses, one with basil and one with mint.

You can make just one kind, but don't forget to double the recipe for whichever mousse you choose, so you can fill about 20 tartlets.

Tartlet shells

To begin, we are going to make the brick pastry tartlet shells.

Melt 60g of butter (plant-based butter) in the microwave for 30 seconds at 600Watt. If it is not completely melted, place it back in the microwave for a few more seconds.

Place a brick pastry sheet on a board, cut strips 8 cm wide, then cut squares of 8 cm x 8 cm from the strips.

To avoid waste, you can use the rounded edges of the brick pastry sheet — it doesn't matter if they're not all perfectly square.

We are going to use a mini cupcake mold to make nice, even tartlet shells.

To form one tartlet, we will need 3 squares of brick pastry.

To give our brick pastry a nice crunch, we are going to brush them with butter.

Brush the first brick pastry square with butter, place a second square on top, brush it with butter and place a third one on top and brush it with butter again.

Using a serrated knife, make a notch in the centre of each side of the stacked brick pastry squares. To help you, look at the photos below. :o)

Place the stacked brick pastry squares into the mini cupcake mold. Thanks to the notches cut earlier, the brick pastry will fit easily into the mold. :o)

With 10 brick pastry sheets, we will be able to make 24 tartlets. We'll have 4 in reserve, in case any break, as the tartlet shells are very fragile.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-assisted.

Once the oven is at the right temperature, bake the tartlet shells for 3 to 5 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Be careful, they bake quickly! ;-)

Once nicely golden, remove them from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack.

Look how beautiful they are! :o)

Avocado-mint mousse

To make a lovely mousse, we need a very ripe avocado. If that's not the case, here's a little tip I just discovered that works really well. :-)

Pierce your avocado with a fork and place it in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds at maximum power, let it cool and it will be ready to use.

Start by cutting open 1 avocado, remove the pit then the skin.

Place the avocado in a blender and add 1 tsp of lime juice.

Use measuring spoons to add the right amount of lemon juice.

The lemon juice will prevent the avocado from oxidising and will give it a little extra flavour.

Blend everything into a smooth purée.

Next, let's move on to the seasoning. Add 2 pinches of ginger powder.

You can also use fresh ginger, grated or cut into very small pieces.

Continue seasoning by adding 10 turns of pepper mill and 1/2 tsp of salt.

The seasoning can be adjusted to your taste at the end of the recipe.

To give our avocado mousse a little originality, add some mint — it will give it an extra layer of flavour.

Finely chop about 15 fresh mint leaves, then mix everything together with a spoon.

In a jug, pour 75g of heavy cream (plant-based cream) and whip it into a firm whipped cream.

For the vegan version, Rama plant-based cream (31% fat) works really well for whipped cream! :o) You'll find it at Migros or Coop.

Add the whipped cream to the avocado mixture, mix well with a spatula.

Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Cover the mousse with cling film and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Avocado-basil mousse

For the basil version, the process is the same as for the avocado-mint mousse.

Start by cutting open 1 avocado, remove the pit then the skin.

Place the avocado in a blender, add 1 tsp of lime juice.

The lemon juice will prevent the avocado from turning brown and will give it a little extra kick.

Blend everything into a smooth purée.

Pour the mixture into a bowl.

For the seasoning, add about 10 turns of pepper mill and 1/2 tsp of salt.

I recommend adjusting the seasoning at the end of the recipe, once all the ingredients are combined.

Finely slice the basil and add it to the avocado purée.

Mix everything well with a spoon.

In a jug, pour 75g of heavy cream (plant-based cream) and whip it into a firm whipped cream.

Add the whipped cream to the avocado mixture, mix well with a spatula.

Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Cover the mousse with cling film and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Decoration

For the assembly, don't rush, as brick pastry doesn't like moisture. That's why I recommend assembling them no more than 1h before serving.

This way, you won't have any unpleasant surprises when it's time to enjoy them.

For a beautiful finish, use a 11 mm star nozzle and place it in a 41 cm piping bag.

Pour the two kinds of mousse into piping bags, of course each one in a separate piping bag. ;-)

Pipe a pretty rosette of avocado-mint mousse into about 10 tartlets.

Decorate each avocado-mint mousse tartlet with 1/4 of a cherry tomato and 1 mint leaf.

Do the same with the avocado-basil mousse, pipe a pretty rosette, place 1/4 of a cherry tomato on top and finish with 1 small basil leaf.

The mint and basil leaves will help you tell the two mousses apart when serving. :-)

Here are some gorgeous fully homemade tartlets. ;-)

The brick pastry tartlet shells and the mousses can be prepared 1 day in advance, but as mentioned in the recipe, the assembly should be done no more than 1 hour before serving.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, food lovers!

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.