HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Today as we celebrate Mother’s Day, many special memories come to mind. My mother passed away in 1978 but even after 47 years, time has changed nothing. I still miss the sound of her voice, the wisdom in her advice, the stories of her life and just being in her presence. I miss her today as much as the day she left us, and I always will.
It is also with very loving thoughts, Brion & I celebrate my mother-in-law, Dolores, for her loving and kind ways and for raising that ‘special’ man I love sharing my life with. Love to my sisters, who gave so much of themselves to be the great mom’s they are.
In honor of these two precious women who prepared so many wonderful meals for us years ago, I like to post something special on this day. My choice this year are these unique looking raspberry curd tart cases.
I think tart rings give these little tarts more of an upscale look, fitting for the occasion. Using rings instead of tart pans gives such a clean look. Being perforated allows for the ring to heat up quicker (along with it being very thin), which allows for better baking. This also allows steam to escape from the crust, which keeps your crust nice and crispy.
I became interested in making curds a number of years ago. Curds differ from pie fillings or custards in that they contain a higher proportion of juice and zest, which gives them a bolder, fruitier taste. Also, curds containing butter have a smoother and creamier texture than both pie fillings and custards, which contain little or no butter and use cornstarch or flour for thickening. Additionally, unlike custards, curds are not usually eaten on their own. It seems fruit curds continue to gain popularity as evidenced by the wide array of recipes available today.
I think these should taste as good as they look.
LOVE TO ALL THE MOM’S OUT THERE READING MY BLOG TODAY!
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- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 5 1/4 Tbsp (50 gm) cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
- 10 Tbsp (130 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 cups (320 gm) raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp cold butter
Ingredients
Pastry
Raspberry Curd
Garnish
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Rate this recipe!
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- Combine the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, salt, & vanilla in a large bowl. Add the butter & mix with your hands until the butter is broken down into pieces the size of peas & the ingredients are well combined. Add the beaten egg & mix with a spatula until the dough is smooth & the egg is fully incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap & gently shape it into a ball. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap & flatten it into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight, until cold but still pliable. It should have the texture of clay. While the dough chills is a good time to make the filling.
- When the dough has chilled, unwrap the dough and place it on a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) on your work surface. Roll it out into a rectangle about 1⁄8 inch thick, using a second silicone sheet on top. The silicone mat makes it easier to lift the rolled-out dough onto the sheet pan later. Make sure to work quickly so the dough doesn’t get too warm.
- Place the silicone mat with the dough on a baking sheet.
- Using the tart rings, cut out 12 circles of dough. Remove the rest of the dough from around the rings.
- Reroll remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment. Using a sharp knife, slice strips about 10 inches long & 3/4- inch thick (or the thickness of your pastry rings). These strips will make the sides of each tartlet. At this point you may want to place the sheet of strips in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes so they will be easier to work with.
- Working with one at a time, transfer a strip of dough to one of the tart rings and press it to the sides. Use your fingers to slightly push the bottom of the sides to the dough circle (to seal it). Repeat with the remaining strips of dough.
- On another sheet of silicone or parchment, roll out any leftover dough & cut 12 tartlet case tops. Cut round holes in various sizes in them for decoration. Remove excess dough from around & in tops. Place on a separate baking sheet as they will bake faster than the tartlet cases.
- Transfer the baking sheets containing the tartlet shells & tops to the freezer & freeze for at least 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake tart rings for about 20 minutes or until golden. Bake tops until they are just slightly golden (they bake fast so you need to keep a close eye on them). Remove from oven.
- Combine raspberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice & water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil (about 5 minutes); reduce heat & simmer 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat & let stand 5 minutes. Place in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl & discard solids.
- Wipe pan clean & return strained mixture to pan. Whisk together egg yolks & cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Stir yolk mixture into raspberry mixture; bring to a boil over medium-low heat (about 5 minutes). Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat (the mixture should coat the back of a spoon). Add salt & butter, stirring until smooth. You may need to return the mixture to processor at this point if your curd doesn't seem smooth enough.
- Place curd into a bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill curd in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, or up to 1 week if making in advance.
- Place tartlet tops on a wire rack & dust with powdered sugar. Spoon raspberry curd into cooled tart shell & spread into an even layer with an offset spatula. Arrange pastry lid on top of each filled tartlet. Decorate with fresh raspberries. Best eaten when they have chilled OVERNIGHT or a minimum of 2 hours.
If you find the dough is to soft to work with just add a small amount of flour, just enough to make it easier to handle.
This is a real nice crispy pastry dough. When its baked it would give the impression of being real hard but instead its crisp and so nice to bite into.
