I love doing Wordless Wednesday posts; they’re simple mouth-watering food porn (at least on this site). However, they’re often a big tease and after an overwhelming response from this week’s post, I requested the recipe for the mini citrus tarts shown above.
Lisal, a pastry cook who recently relocated to the San Francisco bay area, made these beautiful tarts for the bridal shower I hosted last week. She cites Blackmarket Bakery, where she was trained in Southern California, as her inspiration. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe Lisal!
Mini Citrus Tarts
Lemon Cream
Yield: ~ 2 cups
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. lemon juice
- 3 T. lemon zest
- Pinch of salt
- 4 T. unsalted butter
In a large stainless steel bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, and sugar. Then whisk in lemon juice, zest and salt. Set the butter aside for later. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and gently cook, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs. This should take about 10 minutes, until the cream thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove bowl from heat, and whisk in the butter. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Set the bowl over an ice water bath and whisk until cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold. It will keep at least four days in the fridge. To increase the complexity of flavor, you may substitute all or part of the lemon juice and zest with other citrus fruits (a combination of lemon, grapefruit and lime were used in mine).
Pate Sucre (Tart Dough)
Yield: ~50 cupcake sized tarts
- 1 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 1 lb. 8 oz flour (use pastry flour if you have it)
In a bowl, mix butter and sugar just until incorporated (do not cream until light and fluffy). Add eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth before adding the next egg. Then add half of the flour, and mix until most of the flour is incorporated, then add remaining flour. Mix until all the flour is fully incorporated. To make the dough easier to work with, chill in the refrigerator/freezer.
Tart Shells & Filling
To form the tart shells, you can use tartlet molds, or even cupcake pans. Roll the dough to 3-4 mm thick, using plenty of flour, and cut and place into the molds, being sure to press out any air pockets. Alternatively, you can skip the rolling, and just press the soft dough into shape using your fingers. If you are using cupcake pans make sure they are deep enough to hold your filling! Dock with a fork to allow any remaining air pockets a chance to escape once placed in the oven. Chill the dough in the tartlet molds or cupcake pans until firm. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are golden brown and the center of tart shells are lightly golden brown and firm to the touch (about 15 minutes). Don’t forget to rotate pans for even baking.
If the tart shells will sit with a “wet” filling (e.g., lemon cream) for an extended period of time before serving (e.g., overnight) paint the insides of the shells with melted white chocolate, and chill for 5 minutes before filling. If desired, dust unfilled shells with powdered sugar. Pipe lemon cream into tart shells using a pastry bag or a large zip-top bag and garnish with fresh berries or white chocolate shavings.
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I love doing Wordless Wednesday posts; they’re simple mouth-watering food porn (at least on this site). However, they’re often a big tease and after an overwhelming response from this week’s post, I requested the recipe for the mini citrus tarts shown above.
Debbie
August 28, 2010 at 12:28 pm (14 years ago)Thank you so much for posting the recipe, those pictures were just too beautiful not to make them! Thanks!
Matt Kay
August 28, 2010 at 1:28 pm (14 years ago)Seriously, these look amazing. I could do a number on a pan of those.
Cheers!
Ambika
August 28, 2010 at 6:16 pm (14 years ago)Awesome! Citrus flavor, anytime 🙂
Tristan @ Enjoy Life
August 28, 2010 at 10:53 pm (14 years ago)Could eat these all day!
Evan @swEEts
August 29, 2010 at 7:22 am (14 years ago)Ooh this looks delicious! I love mini tarts 🙂
Heather I.
August 29, 2010 at 6:51 pm (14 years ago)Mini tarts are the perfect party treat! Although I can never just eat one…these look so cute and delicious!
tracyk
January 4, 2011 at 6:09 pm (13 years ago)your desserts look amazing….I am horrible at desserts, however these citrus tarts look to good not to give it a go!
Denise @ Creative Kitchen
January 29, 2011 at 8:35 pm (13 years ago)These look AMAZING!! I love lemon, I love custard, I love tarts!! Thanks for sharing!
Denise @ Creative Kitchen recently posted Spaghetti Garlic Crostini