Pistachio Pomegranate Tarts

Pistachio Pomegranate Tarts are a labor of love kind of dessert. And although they look intimidating to make, they were relatively easy.

Pomegrante Pistachio Tarts-2 Several components come together to make a show-stopping dessert.

So, this recipe started when I impulsively purchased pomegranates on my last Instacart Aldi order.

Pomegrante Pistachio Tarts-7

If you have never tried pomegranates before, you really should! Pomegranates are a beautiful fruit, with shiny red “jewels” called arils inside. Sweet, juicy, and full of goodness. In season starting in late September, luckily, pomegranates can be frozen to enjoy year-round. Remove the arils (seeds), lay on a baking sheet in a single layer, and freeze. Then pop them into a freezer bag…pomegranates all year round.

Thinking of scaled-down holidays and with many folks at home, I think we all have the time to create some extra unique dishes for our families this year. With Tim and I, just the two of us, small desserts are a good deal. Otherwise, we eat ALL of it, which is good and bad. Good for the taste buds, but bad for the waistline.

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Same with Pistachio Pomegranate Tarts pistachios, good for you, pomegranates, good for you! Don’t get me wrong; it’s still a dessert, but you can let go of some of the guilt.

The hardest part of this dish is the pastry cream. My first attempt was scrambled eggs. I kid you not…I was whisking, thinking it was all going smoothly, and WHAM!! just like that, it turned to scrambled eggs…yuck!! Not that I dislike scrambled eggs, but not in my pastry cream. Whisking and watching is the key to good pastry cream.

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For my second attempt, I changed up the recipe, and it worked perfectly. I used coconut milk, and thank goodness I had an extra can.

Getting the pomegranate arils out is also a small feat, but there are plenty of YouTube videos on the subject, so watch a few and see what works for you. Just note that they are juicy, and the juice can stain.

I like this recipe because you can make it ahead, and it holds well. I made mine popped it in the fridge, and took my photos the next day. They looked as good as when I made them!!

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We tried a new dark photoshoot for these and thought it turned out great. We will do more of this in the future.

While these little desserts are a more intense recipe, the outcome is worth the effort. Small desserts for small gatherings, try our Pistachio Pomegranate Tarts!

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Pomegrante Pistachio Tarts-2

Pistachio Pomegranate Tarts

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  • Author: Marty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American-French

Ingredients

Scale

Crust Ingredients

1 cup unsalted chopped pistachios

1 tablespoon shredded coconut

1 tablespoon sugar 

pinch salt

1 tablespoon cocoa powder 

1 large egg

Ganache Ingredients

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup 

4 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk (use the remainder of the can for the pastry cream)

pinch salt

Pastry Cream Ingredients

2 cups of coconut milk

6 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch 

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste 

3 large egg yolks

1 large egg 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened

2 cups pomegranate seeds from 2 pomegranates

Pomegranate Glaze

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup 100% pomegranate juice


Instructions

Crust Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small food processor, blend the pistachios, shredded coconut, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder until you are left with a coarse powder.

Add in the egg and process just until a paste forms. 

With your fingers, spread into four small, lightly greased tart molds (5’’ diameter); if the dough is too sticky wet your fingers with water to help the mixture not to stick.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Let them cool completely. These can be prepared a day ahead keeping, them in the fridge before adding ganache.

Ganache Instructions

Place chocolate chips, milk, and salt in a small microwave-safe dish and heat at 30-second intervals until milk is hot enough to melt the chocolate.

Stir until completely combined.

Let the ganache cool about 10 or 15 minutes.

Once cooled, divide the ganache into the bottoms of the empty tart crusts.

Place ganache filled tarts in the refrigerator until ready to fill with pastry cream.

Pastry Cream Instructions

Heat the coconut milk over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, almost to a boil. 

While the milk is heating, place the sugar, egg and yolks, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Whisk until thick and smooth. Place the bowl with the egg mix on a towel or napkin; this will keep the bowl still as you whisk in the milk. 

As soon as the milk starts to bubble, remove it from the heat. Slowly pour about a half of the hot milk in a thin stream into the egg mix, WHISKING CONSTANTLY(can’t stress this enough) to temper the egg mix. Once the eggs have been tempered, add the egg mix back into the hot milk in the saucepan.

Heat the custard mixture over medium heat while whisking vigorously until it starts to thicken – about 1 – 2 minutes.

While whisking, let the custard come to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Whisk in the butter until thoroughly combined.

Pour the custard into a bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the whole surface. This prevents skin from forming on the top of the custard.

Let the custard cool 10-15 minutes, then top the ganache filled tarts with pastry cream. You will have leftover pastry cream to use for another recipe or to eat.

Allow the tarts to cool for an additional 10 minutes, then top with about 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds on each tart, pressing lightly, so the seeds stay on the tart. 

Let the tarts set in the refrigerator for a least 2 hours.

Pomegranate Glaze

In a small saucepan, place sugar and pomegranate juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced to a thick syrup, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool.

To serve, garnish drizzle with pomegranate glaze and add a sprig of mint if desired. 


Notes

Recipe serves 4 if serving a whole tart, 8 if cutting in half. You can also use smaller tart pans for more serving. I used 5 inch tart pans.

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