Lemon Curd Tartelettes Recipes

Steps:

• In a 2 quart saucepan, combine lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, eggs, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat until thick enough to hold marks from whisk, and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix together sugar and eggs. Mix in lemon rind and lemon juice. Add melted butter. Cook on top of double boiler over boiling water until curd is thickened. Curd may be cooked in a microwave: on low or med-low for short time periods stirring between each time, until mix has thickened. This mix, while still hot will not be very thick. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cool mix at room temperature, then refrigerate until completely cold. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
• To make tartelette shells:
• Roll chilled sugar dough on lightly floured counter or pastry cloth approximately 1/4" thick. Make a cluster of the tartelette molds and gently lift rolled dough on top of molds. Press down on molds. Shape each shell into the mold. Prick bottom with fork. Bake at 350 on cookie sheet until shell is golden brown. Cool at room temperature.
• To assemble:
• Spoon cold lemon curd mix into cooked cold shell. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Steps:

• For curd: Whip eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy with a whip attachment. Gradually mix in lemon juice and rind. Place over boiling water and cook, whisking until extremely thick, about 5 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Pour into a container, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight to stiffen.
• For tart dough: Lay one sheet of phyllo on work surface. Brush with clarified butter and sprinkle with sugar. Repeat the process with the second and third sheets. Cut into 3-inch squares.
• Lay 18 tartlet molds upside down on a sheet pan. Lay 1 square of phyllo over each pan, then place a second one on top of phyllo to help form tartlet shells. The square corners will spread out flat on the sheet pan. Bake in this upside down position weighted down with another sheet pan at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown. Let phyllo cool slightly, but while still warm remove from molds. Cool completely then fill with lemon curd by piping with a plain tip.
• For meringue: Whip egg whites until stiff but not dry then add the brown sugar gradually and continue whipping until stiff. Pipe onto lemon curd with a star tip and brown with a blow torch or under the broiler.

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the chilled tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Remove the zest of the lemons with a vegetable peeler or zester, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
• Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 175 degrees F, or just below a simmer. Remove from the heat.
• Fill the tart shell with warm lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature.