1. Knead the soft butter together with the powdered sugar, vanilla paste and a pinch of salt.

2. Now beat an egg into the butter mix and knead together. Then add the flour and knead slowly.

3. Knead the shortcrust pastry until you get an even dough and all the ingredients are combined. Keep the kneading time as short as possible so that the dough temperature remains low.

4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (360 F). Grease 8 tartlet molds (Ø 10cm) well.

5. Roll out the fresh shortcrust pastry between two sheets of baking paper to the desired thickness. No chilling - we roll it out right away. This saves you a step and you can use the shortcrust pastry immediately after it has cooled.

6. Place the rolled out shortcrust pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes (alternatively: overnight).

7. For tartlets: place the rounds of dough in the greased tartlet molds and press down to create an even edge. Prick the dough in the molds several times with a fork. Cover and chill for about 30 minutes or place in the freezer.

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for about 20 minutes until golden. Allow the tarts to cool after baking. If you are not satisfied with the edge of the tart after baking or if there are irregularities on the surface, you can carefully remove them with a knife or a grater.

9. For making mini tarts in a muffin tin, shape the dough into a roll and cut into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a ball, roll out on a lightly floured surface (approx. 11 cm in diameter). Line the muffin cases with it, press the dough up at the edge. Bake the muffin tartlets in the preheated oven (electric stove: 200 °C/convection: 175 °C/gas: level 3) for approx. 12 minutes. Leave to cool for approx. 10 minutes, then turn out of the molds or the tin and leave to cool

Filling:

1. Mix the quark, lemon juice, lemon zest, 75 g sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form and fold in.

2. Dust the edges with powdered sugar. Fill the tarts with cream. Place 1 apricot half on top.