I had originally planned to limit myself to only making one dessert a week for both health and financial reasons, but have not been able to stick to that resolution very well! I had leftover lemons from the lemon sorbet that I made to acompany the meringue chantilly cookies and decided to make lemon curd, which turned into a lemon curd tart, which ended up being served with a
delicious strawberry sauce. The lemon curd and strawberry sauce
go together perfectly.
Lemon Curd Tartlets with Fresh Strawberry Sauce
The Tartlet Shell:
1 1/3 c all purpose flour
1 TBS sugar
Pinch of salt
8 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2-3 TBS ice water
The Lemon Curd:
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ c sugar
¼ tsp salt
Zest of 2 lemon
½ c lemon juice
6 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
The Whipped Cream:
1 c whipping cream
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ c confectioner’s sugar, sifted
I do not have tartlet pans so I used a cupcake pan instead. Simply butter the pan and set aside. This can also be made in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Heat oven to 425ºF.
For the tartlet shells: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor or large bowl and cut together until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. If you do not have a food processor, put the butter, uncut, in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes and then grate on a cheese grater into the flour mixture. This makes it much simpler to combine the butter with the flour and produces a very tender crust! Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly until the mixture comes together.
Gently press dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness. If making the 9-inch tart, transfer dough to the tart pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. For individual tartlets cut out dough into 3 inch circles and press dough into the cupcake pan. The dough should come up the sides almost halfway. Prick the bottom of each tartlet shell and line with either aluminum foil or cupcake liners and fill with dry rice or beans. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove the liners and beans and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. When cool remove from pan and place on serving platter.
For the lemon curd: Beat the eggs, yolks, sugar and salt in a small saucepan until smooth and lightly colored. Add the lemon zest and juice and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes, or until the curd in thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and your finger leaves a definite track when you draw it through the spoon. Remove from heat and pour into a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled bowl. Spoon into the tartlet shells and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the whipped cream: Place mixing bowl in freezer for 15 minutes. Pour cream and vanilla into mixing bowl and whip at medium speed until cream starts to form soft peaks. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar and then increase the mixer speed to high and whip the cream until it holds firm but supple peaks. Spoon whipped cream into a pastry bag and pipe onto tartlets. Serve with fresh strawberry sauce.
For the strawberry sauce: Puree 1 c fresh strawberries with 2 TBS sugar and 1 TBS fresh lemon juice. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 day.
The Tartlet Shell:
1 1/3 c all purpose flour
1 TBS sugar
Pinch of salt
8 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2-3 TBS ice water
The Lemon Curd:
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ c sugar
¼ tsp salt
Zest of 2 lemon
½ c lemon juice
6 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
The Whipped Cream:
1 c whipping cream
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ c confectioner’s sugar, sifted
I do not have tartlet pans so I used a cupcake pan instead. Simply butter the pan and set aside. This can also be made in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Heat oven to 425ºF.
For the tartlet shells: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor or large bowl and cut together until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. If you do not have a food processor, put the butter, uncut, in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes and then grate on a cheese grater into the flour mixture. This makes it much simpler to combine the butter with the flour and produces a very tender crust! Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly until the mixture comes together.
Gently press dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness. If making the 9-inch tart, transfer dough to the tart pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. For individual tartlets cut out dough into 3 inch circles and press dough into the cupcake pan. The dough should come up the sides almost halfway. Prick the bottom of each tartlet shell and line with either aluminum foil or cupcake liners and fill with dry rice or beans. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove the liners and beans and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. When cool remove from pan and place on serving platter.
For the lemon curd: Beat the eggs, yolks, sugar and salt in a small saucepan until smooth and lightly colored. Add the lemon zest and juice and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts, about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes, or until the curd in thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and your finger leaves a definite track when you draw it through the spoon. Remove from heat and pour into a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled bowl. Spoon into the tartlet shells and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the whipped cream: Place mixing bowl in freezer for 15 minutes. Pour cream and vanilla into mixing bowl and whip at medium speed until cream starts to form soft peaks. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar and then increase the mixer speed to high and whip the cream until it holds firm but supple peaks. Spoon whipped cream into a pastry bag and pipe onto tartlets. Serve with fresh strawberry sauce.
For the strawberry sauce: Puree 1 c fresh strawberries with 2 TBS sugar and 1 TBS fresh lemon juice. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 day.
No comments:
Post a Comment