Just at the cusp of summertime and these are my favorite mini treats. Tangy, sweet, lemon goodness topped with lemon cream and raspberry purée. I like to use a few small tart pans instead of one big pan because these pack a punch and sometimes, you just want a little taste. You can make the crusts ahead of time and fill the tarts the morning before you serve these treats.
As for the crust, you can use a cookie bottom or a standard tart crust...which I think is pretty boring. Go cookie. It will definitely be tastier. The super simple way to make a cookie crust is to use, well, crushed up cookies. This is a place where you want to use cooled (or, eek, store-bought) cookies. Grahams, butter or anything else that’s simple would work here. I happened to freeze some buttery almond bites that I made a few weeks ago that worked perfectly for the bottom of my tart. You could make these little snowball cookies one day, then crunch up the leftovers for your tart on another day.
This recipe yields enough filling and crust for about 4-5 mini tarts (4.75 x 1 inch tart pans). You’ll likely have a little leftover...but the nice thing about making these mini tarts is that all these ingredients freeze well.
I included two quick recipes for lemon whipped cream and raspberry drizzle that can be used for just about any other dessert, too.
Cookie Crust
2 cups buttery almond cookie crumbs or vanilla wafer cookies
pinch salt
6 TBS butter, melted and cooled slightly
- Using a food processor, add cookies and salt until they are finely processed. Add melted butter and pulse until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Evenly press cookie crust dough into each pan and up the sides. Use a measuring cup to help smooth the crust on the bottom of each pan.
- Cover and refrigerate about 15 minutes to help butter set the crust. If not using the crusts the same day, refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 6 months.
Lemon Curd Filling
(4-5 mini tarts)
9 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
8 TBS (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp powdered gelatin
¼ tsp salt
Special tools: candy thermometer or instant read thermometer and mesh strainer
- Place mesh strainer over medium/large bowl and set aside.
- In a heavy bottom saucepan, add egg yolks, sugar and butter. Whisk over low heat until butter is melted. Add lemon juice, gelatin and salt. Attach candy thermometer to side of saucepan or check temp with instant read thermometer. Continue to whisk ingredients over low heat until mixture reaches 196℉.
- Strain immediately to remove any lumps.
- Pour filling into prepared tart crusts and allow to cool a few hours until filling is set. Filled tarts can be stored in the refrigerator 2 days in advance. If not filling tarts right away, lemon curd can be refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen until to a few months. Curd will need to be gently loosened before filling tart shells. The best way to do this is either over very low heat in a saucepan or in the microwave. If using the microwave, only heat in 20 second increments and stir frequently until filling is loose enough to fill the tart shell. Refrigerate filled tarts a few hours until set.
Lemon Cream
2-3 TBS lemon curd at room temperature and not solidified
½ cup whipping cream
confectioners sugar to taste
- Whip cream and curd to firm peaks. Add sugar if needed.
- Top entire tart with cream or dollop in the middle
Raspberry Drizzle
1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries (defrosted)
sugar to taste
splash lemon juice
- Combine raspberries, sugar (1 tsp at a time), and lemon juice to food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste and add sugar if needed.
- If you hate seeds like I do, strain mixture before using. To drizzle with ease, pick up one of these bottles. To make the effect in my pic, drizzle the raspberry in a swirl over the cream and carefully drag a toothpick through the drizzle. Play with it and make your own design. Leftover drizzle is perfect over ice cream, chocolate cakes… store in the fridge or freezer.
Enjoy!
MJM
