Lemon Curd Tarts

Well I did it, I finally made homemade lemon curd!  I grew up eating lemon curd, even going to Scottish festivals in Los Angeles where lemon curd was one of the main attractions.  California may be a seriously screwed up state, but there is always something fun to do!  At some point in time, I started buying lemon curd in jars, and didn’t really think much of it.  I will never purchase a jar again, the real deal is so much better!

In late 19th and early 20th century England, homemade lemon curd was traditionally served with bread or scones at afternoon tea as an alternative to jam, and as a filling for cakes, small pastries and tarts. I could not think of a better dessert to serve to this month’s Scottish imaginary date Gerard Butler.

So back to the lemon curd, and these insanely delicious Lemon Curd Tarts!!  They are much easier to make than you are probably expecting, and so worth the effort…..

Bring 1-inch of water to a boil in a large pot.  Place eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a large stainless steel bowl {or double boiler} and whisk together…..

Place bowl on top of boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened…..

Mixture will be ready when it coats the backside of a spoon, and leaves a tunnel when you run your finger through it…..

It takes about 5 to 7 minutes, and looks thicker in person.  Remove from heat and whisk in butter…..

Continue whisking until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.  Pour into a sealed container and chill in the refrigerator…..

While the lemon curd is chilling, preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner and set aside. Pull puff pastry shells OR 1 puff pastry sheet out of package and place on a floured work surface…..

I only had puff pastry sheets, but they turn out exactly the same…trust me. 😉  Remove the separators from the puff pastry and fold dough back together on it’s self.  Use a 2 and 3/4 inch round cutter to cut out circles…..

Now use a 1 and 3/4 inch cutter to “mark” the centers of each circle.  You don’t want to cut all the way through, you just want to score the dough about 3/4’s of the way through…..

Prick the center’s of each circle 3 or 4 times with a knife so the dough can vent while baking…..

Repeat with the second sheet of dough and place on prepared baking sheet…..

Bake for 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown…..

I gently pushed down that shell int the back corner so it wasn’t tilted. 🙂  The shells will shrink down slightly as they cool, so don’t worry too much about it.  Place shells on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut around the inner circle and remove the top…..

Dust with sifted powdered sugar…..

and fill with lemon curd…..

You will have more lemon curd that you need to fill 6 shells, so keep a spoon handy to finish off the leftovers. 😉

So there you have it, another Cooking with Astrology Scorpio in the bag!  Here is the entire meal:

Rusty Nail Cocktail  –  Split Pea Soup  –  Cornish Pasties  –  Lemon Curd Tarts

Here is last year’s meal:

Moroccan Butternut Squash Soup  –  Chicken Tagine with Olives & Lemons

Moroccan Orange Cake  –  Avocado & Date Smoothie

You can find your sun sign’s meal on my Cooking with Astrology Pinterest Board:

Follow Cooking with Curls’s board Cooking with Astrology on Pinterest.

Enjoy!!

Lemon Curd Tarts

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Serves	6
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	25 minutes
Meal type	Dessert

Lemon Curd Tarts - Puff Pastry Shells filled with Homemade Lemon Curd create the perfect dessert.

Ingredients

• Lemon Curd
• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Whole organic eggs
• 2 organic eggs, yolks only
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 Package Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets or shells

Directions

To make the Lemon Curd:

Bring 1 -inch of water to a boil in a large pot.

Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and sugar in a large stainless steel bowl, or double boiler.

Place over boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally until mixture thicken and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter, whisking until thoroughly melted and mixture is smooth.

Pour lemon curd into a sealed container and place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.

For the Tarts:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner.

Bake for 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Place on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before filling.

Cut out the centers to make shells hollow, and dust with sifted powdered sugar.

Fill with lemon curd and serve.

This recipe will be partying at these link parties!