Lemon Curd

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Makes 2 cups

Fills 35 Mini Tarts, tablespoon each of lemon curd

Lemon Curd recipe adapted from Fine Cooking Elinor Klivans

Lemon Curd Ingredients:

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*3 ounces (6 tablespoons) Butter, unsalted if desired

*1 cup Sugar

*2 large Eggs, room temperature

*2 Egg Yolks, room temperature

*2/3 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice, strained

*1 tablespoon Lemon Zest, added after cooking curd

In a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, cream together with a hand mixer the butter, sugar and beat until fluffy about 1-2 minutes. Then add the eggs 1 at a time and beat 2 more minutes. Then remove beaters from bowl and fold or stir in the lemon juice, the mixture will curdle.

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Now in a heavy based sauce pan add the lemon curd mixture and on low-heat melt the mixture together for about 2-3 minutes. Then turn up to a medium-heat stirring consistently with a wooden spoon or high temp silicone spatula/ scraper, cook the mixture until it thickens (not to exceed 170*F.) about 8-15 minutes. When thickened, pour the sauce through strainer into glass bowl and place bowl in a cold water bath, the lemon curd sauce will thicken more as it cools to room temperature.  Add lemon zest and stir into lemon curd.

Then place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of curd mixture to prevent a crud crust from forming and refrigerate until set.    Scoop the lemon curd into pre-made tart shells and refrigerate, serve tarts with Mini Meringue Toppers or with a dollop of whipped cream topping.

**Variation:  To make a Lemon Curd Mousse add the whipped cream (save some of the whipped cream for topping if desired) to the cooled curd and stir together until creamy.   Scoop lemon curd mixture into tart shells, pie crusts or cream puffs and etc…

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Keeping lemon curd in an airtight container in the fridge and it will keep for 1 week or the freezer up to 2 months

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**Variation Lemon Curd Mousse:

Whipped Cream:

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*1 to 1  1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped to medium peaks

In a clean grease free glass or stainless steel mixing bowl (I like to rub a slice of lemon on the inside of the mixing bowl or you can use a little lemon juice added to a paper towel to make the bowl grease free) chilled in fridge.  Then add to chilled mixing bowl the heavy whipping cream and whip to medium peaks using a hand or stand mixer.

Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream (saving (1/2 cup of the whipped whip cream for topping) into 1/2 lemon curd mixture for layering effect of plain lemon curd and lemon curd mousse or add all the whipped whip cream to lemon curd mixture.

Use the Lemon Curd Mousse filling in tarts, pie crust and cream puffs or it can be scooped into individual cups  etc…

 

Lemon Curd

Cookie Tart Crust

 

Cookie Crust

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Supplies:

*12-24 Mini Tart Tins or one tart pan (we used individual tart tins 2 1/2 inch across top of tart tin.)

*Baking Sheet, to place tart tins on to bake

*Cooking Spray, like Pam

*Saran Wrap

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Cookie Crust:

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*3/4 cup Butter, room temperature

*1/2 cup Sugar

*1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

*1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

*pinch of Sea Salt

*1 Egg, whites only whisked and used after baking

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Combine the above ingredients except for egg white and pulse in a food processor just until ingredients our barley combined and crumbly, add extra flour if needed. Form into a flat disk and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours. Then remove from fridge and scoop 1-2 tablespoon scoop of dough for each tart or roll out dough and place in large tart pan or use round cookie cutter to cut in about 2- 2 1/2 inch circles. Spray tins with Pam Cooking Spray. Press dough into each tart tin. Pierce the bottoms dough in tins with fork.

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Bake tart shell tins on baking in a 350*F. oven for 14-16 minutes. Then remove from oven and brush each tart shell with whisked egg mixture. This will bake as they cool off. This helps so crusts don’t get soggy.

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After cooling, fill tarts with lemon curd or other filling of your choice and top with a dollop of cream or our Lemon Mini Meringue Cookie Toppers.

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See Mini Lemon Tarts with Mixed Nut Crust and Lemon Mini Meringue Cookie Toppers

You could use a cookie cutter and roll out the dough between to silpat baking liners (Parchment Paper works too)  and cut out cookie shape and press into Pam sprayed tart pans or scoop and press cookie tart dough into Pam sprayed tart pans.

Some of the pictures are of the almond mixed nut Crust but the making of the crust in the mini tart pans is the same for the cookie tart crusts.

 

 

Brush egg whites onto each cookie tart right after baking, this helps prevents the lemon curd from making the crust soggy.

See Lemon Mini Meringue Cookie Toppers

See Mini Lemon Tarts with mixed Nut Crust

Also see Paris Bridal Shower

Enjoy!

Lindy