Lemon Curd Tarts
Lemon Curd Tarts are tangy, chewy, buttery and oh so tiny! For the cutest and most tasty mini tarts, follow this simple recipe.
A shortbread tart holds Microwave Lemon Curd which takes about 10 minutes to make. All in, this fab dessert is ready in 40 minutes and will receive all the accolades expected!
Begin by making the lemon curd. This can be made days in advance. Just follow the recipe in the link.
To make the shortbread, cream together soft butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla and follow it with the corn starch and flour. It will be shaggy but will come together. You can also use a stand mixer, if you prefer.
Divide the dough into 24 portions (about 25 grams each). Roll the dough into a ball and place one ball in each cup of a mini muffin pan. Gently flatten each ball with your hand and using a small 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each flattened ball.
I like to do 3 balls at a time. Otherwise, if you roll them all out and flatten them, they can dry out a bit and the wells can crack.
Place the pan in the oven and bake until the outer edges of each tart is a medium golden brown, 18-24 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and reinforce the well by pressing it back down with the 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon (the well can puff up a bit during baking).
After about 10 minutes of cooling, remove the tarts from the pan. Using a knife around the edges is helpful in getting them out of the pan. Cool completely before filling.
Fill each well with lemon curd. Garnish with mint or edible flowers and give each one a dusting of powdered sugar.
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Lemon Curd Tarts
Makes: 24 tarts
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes plus cooling time 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 cup very soft unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2-1 cup Microwave Lemon Curd
- mint sprigs or edible flowers
- additional powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray two 12-cup mini muffin pans (or one 24-cup mini muffin pan) with baking spray. Rub each cup with a piece of paper toweling to make sure they’re thoroughly coated, including the top edges.
Place the soft butter and powdered sugar in a medium-size bowl and stir until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the corn starch and stir until nice and smooth.
Add the flour and salt and stir, turning the bowl with and stirring from the bottom up. At first the dough will be very shaggy and dry, but after a minute or so it will come together nicely. Just keep stirring until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together in a big clump. You could also mix the dough in a stand mixer.
Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. You can eyeball this or use a digital scale. I weigh the dough then divide by 24. It usually comes out to 25-26g each. Give each portion of dough a little squeeze and hold it in your hand for about 10 seconds (to compress and warm the dough a bit) then roll it between your palms into round balls.
Place each ball into one of the prepared mini muffin cups and flatten each one gently with your fingers. Using a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon (see the pictures above in the post), make an indention in the center of each flattened ball. (I like to do about 3 at a time: squeeze 3 portions, roll them into balls, then make the wells. This keeps the dough from drying out and cracking when you make the little wells.) If the dough cracks at the edges, just push it together with your fingers while the spoon is still in the center.
Place the pan(s) in the preheated oven and bake for 18-24 minutes or until the outer edges of each tart are a medium golden brown. (The pretty “well” that you made before baking will have puffed up a bit.)
Remove the pan(s) from the oven and immediately reinforce the center wells by gently pushing in again with the 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon. You can make the wells as shallow or deep as you’d like at this point.
Allow the tart shells to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove by inserting a small sharp knife into the center of each shell and pulling upward. Cool completely on a cooling rack before filling.
Using a spoon fill each well with 1-1 & 1/2 teaspoons of lemon curd. You can also put the lemon curd in a medium-size zip lock back or a disposable pastry bag, snip of a tiny piece at the corner of the ziplock bag or tip of the pastry bag and pipe in the filling.
Garnish with a mint sprig or a small edible flower, if desired. If desired, use a fine mesh small sieve to give each tart a shower of powdered sugar.
Recipe by The Cafe Sucre Farine
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