Who Remembers "Raspberry Tart"

I am completely dating myself on this, but remember Strawberry Shortcake? Well, I remember her, and I remember her friends, too. They all had these cute, fruit-based names and so did their little pets. My sister and I had all the dolls, and they were scented (I used to chew on them, especially that little duck with the red hat, which really annoyed my sister). Anyway, Strawberry Shortcake had friends like Huckleberry Pie, Plum Puddin', Raspberry Tart, Apple Dumplin' and the twins, Lem & Ada. These are the things I think about while baking. Then I think about how weird I am. Now? Now I'm thinking how badly I wish this picture was MY collection of Strawberry Shortcake Characters.

So. Where am I going with this? Did I make strawberry shortcake? Nope. I made Raspberry Tarts. I had left-over phyllo pastry sheets in my fridge and a bag of frozen raspberries, so I thought, why not? Well, the "why not" was the fact that we are in the midst of a major heat-wave, and we are sans air-conditioning over here. My thermostat only measures in Fahrenheit, so I don't know for sure how hot it is, but I know that day, after turning on the oven, it was 84 degrees. Eek! In my defense, I did NOT want to waste the pastry sheets, so away I went. I blind-baked them and used my little tiny cupcake baking tins, so they were just these beautiful, golden little cups. Then I googled a no-bake pie filling recipe for ingredient ideas, but I knew I didn't have the right proportions of anything, so I completely made it up as I went along. I cooked some water, cornstarch (thanks Betty), sugar and raspberries and mashed them all up. Then I tasted, added a little more sugar, some lime juice and a little more sugar. I chilled it for a bit, filled the cups and then drizzled chocolate over the tops and put just a little sprinkle of powdered sugar. I don't mind saying, they are delish! I am attaching a photo because I have a very awesome friend who always wants to see my successes.

Very nostalgic, very tasty, and very HOT.

xox