Lemon Curd Fruit Tarts

So it begins.

D-Day for move out is in less than 1 month, so I've been trying to come up with ways to use everything that's left in the freezer. I had 1 sheet of puff pastry, and an abundance of lemons this week (I think that's obvious by now!). I soon discovered, thanks to Google, there are tons of things you can do with puff pastry. I finally decided on cutting the sheet up and making tarts.

Lemon curd seems to be making the round on blogs. I've never made one before, so I was a bit nervous. I've overcooked many a custard and the process seemed so similar. After whisking this curd for 25 minutes straight, I discovered that lemon curd does not go from done to ruined in half a second like custard. I also discovered it's a very good arm workout.

After finishing the lemon curd and putting it in the fridge to set, I moved on to the tarts. It didn't get any easier than cutting the puff pastry sheet into squares and pressing the dough into a mini-muffin pan.

15 minutes later, the pastry had puffed and was golden brown. I let these completely cool while I did some chores and packing around the house, which also gave the lemon curd more chilling time. I came back 2 hours later to assemble the tarts.

I put a little scoop of lemon curd on top of the tart, followed by a couple pieces of fruit. I had fresh kiwis and strawberries on hand, and then ended up defrosting some frozen blueberries to use as well. I thought the color scheme looked good together :)

Lemon goes with just about any fruit, so all 3 fruits on the top worked. I had to taste test all 3, and loved all of them. They're perfect little bite-size treats.

So, I got rid of a puff pastry sheet and the frozen blueberries today. I've got more frozen fruit, so maybe I'll make smoothies later this week? I've also got a pie crust as well though, so it might end up being a fruit pie. We'll see :)

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
4 tbsp butter, room temp
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 puff pastry sheet, defrosted
fruit topping of choice (I used diced strawberries, kiwis, and blueberries)

Directions:
1. Place a glass mixing bowl over a saucepan off simmering water. Whisk together eggs, sugar in lemon juice in bowl. Whisk constantly until mixture has become very thick, about the texture of sour cream. This should take 10 minutes, however it took me 25 minutes. Remove from heat, and immediately strain through a sieve. Discard solids. Cut butter into small pieces and whisk into the lemon curd, stirring until the butter dissolves. Stir in the lemon zest. Cover lemon curd with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap into the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in fridge 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unroll pastry sheet, and cut into squares. Press the dough squares into a mini-muffin pan coated with cooking spray. Bake in oven 13-15 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack, and let tarts cool completely before next step.
3. Spoon lemon curd into the middle of the tart. Place a couple pieces of fruit on top. Serve immediately. Store tarts in refrigerator.

Lemon Curd recipe courtesy of Joy of Baking

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