This recipe was born last year when i had an abundance of blueberries and little tart tins that I had never used before. If you take a pie crust and mold it into a tart shell, bake it, fill it with lemon curd, then top with blueberries, you have a nice bite-sized pie that doesn’t need a plate or a fork, only a napkin. It is pretty to look at, and if young little hands can help in the assembly, it makes it all the better. One 9 inch pie crust will yield about 16 little tart shells. You can either use your own pie crust recipe, or use a prepared one. Four cups of lemon curd with five 9-inch pastry shells will make enough for eighty little pies (tartlets) If you are only making a dozen or so tartlets and are pressed for time, you can use prepared lemon curd. But when you make your own, it is just magic when it thickens!
Ingredients: [‘lemons’, ‘sugar’, ‘unsalted butter’, ‘extra large eggs’, ‘lemon juice’, ‘salt’, ‘honey’, ‘pie crusts’, ‘fresh blueberries’]
Quantity of Ingredients: [“6 lemons”,”2 1/2 cups sugar”,”8 ounces unsalted butter”,”8 extra large eggs”,”1 cup lemon juice (from 6-7 lemons)”,”1/4 teaspoon salt (scant)”,”1 tablespoon honey (according to taste)”,”5 (9 inch) pie crusts”,”4 -5 pints fresh blueberries”]
Number of Servings: 80
Steps: [‘For making lemon curd: Using a vegetable peeler, peel 6 lemons. Use only the outer peel, avoiding the bitter pith. Place peel and sugar into food processor and pulse until completely combined. Cream in butter. Add eggs one at a time, blending completely after each one. Add in lemon juice and salt.’, “Pour into saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking continuously. THIS IS WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS. After 15 minutes or so, this thickens, as if by magic. If you are asking yourself it is thick enough, it probably isn’t. Adjust sweetness with honey to taste. You might not want to use a whole tablespoon.”, ‘Once thickened, pour into strainer, to strain out the lemon zest or any proteins that might have curdled during the cooking. Allow lemon curd to chill for several hours.’, “Next, prepare your crusts. You can prepare your own pie crusts or use a prepared packaged one. I won’t tell if you won’t. But you want to find a crust that tastes good, since some tastes like tough cardboard. If not preparing my own pie crust, I use a store brand pie crust. I divide one crust into 16 parts, then mold into small tartlet pans. You could probably even use muffin tins. Prick them, then bake at 425-450 for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.”, ‘Fill each tartlet shell with a hearty teaspoon of lemon curd. Then spoon on the fresh blueberries. (Or strawberries, raspberries, or any type of berries) Once fall arrives, I will add some ginger to the curd and top with sliced pears, toasted sliced almonds, and glaze with apricot jam. This is just a fun dessert to serve to a crowd. It is fun, pretty, and can be quite easy.’]