I love plated desserts but often they’re fussy and time-consuming to make. This quick, easy recipe, fine for entertaining, evolved from two tarts I make and relies on a couple shortcuts. I think we all cheat from time to time, although some might not admit it.
One of the original tarts uses homemade lemon curd as the filling, the other uses a lighter, lemony version of cheesecake filling. Both use pate sucrée for the pastry and strawberries for the garnish. Some years back I cheated with the first one by using purchased lemon curd, which is not just a timesaver but is also peace of mind with respect to the egg yolks.
This time I wanted to serve tartlets but the clock was against me so I bought a package of frozen Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells — they’re six to a pack — some low-fat cream cheese and a jar of Duerr’s Lemon Curd, a British import. It’s thicker and firmer than the American counterpart and is the same price, so if your market carries it (perhaps in the international aisle) I think it’s worth trying. It’s natural, no HFCS, and the same is true of Dickinson’s.
I’d never used the Puff Pastry Shells before and was pleased with how well they baked up, but annoyed by the “Hey, stupid” aspect of being sure we know the scored side goes up. It’s all explained on the box, but just in case we have more toes than brain cells:
Well, thank goodness we have a roadmap. They bake for about 20 minutes and were still flat after 10 but puffed up nicely by the end.
Cut off the top, fill the cavity, garnish as you wish, plate and serve. There’s an excellent chance I’ll be making these again, even when time is on my side.
Ella’s Quick Puff Pastry Tartlets
1 package frozen Puff Pastry Shells
6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
Half of a 10 or 12-ounce/340g jar lemon curd
1/2 tsp almond extract
strawberries or raspberries for garnish
Bake and cool the puff pastry shells as directed on the package.
In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, the lemon curd and almond extract. Refrigerate leftover lemon curd for another use.
Cut off the tops of the puff pastry shells as directed on the package. Fill cavities with cream cheese/curd mixture and garnish with berries.
If you want to gild the lilly, drizzle on some melted chocolate.
Serves 6
Ella’s note: This would be super with blueberries too, using orange extract instead of almond.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This is excellent, so easy to make and yet yummy: ) I have never used ready made pastry before too and recently tried the first time to make Portuguese egg custard tarts, they were not difficult at all and they were gone in minutes.
I think I remember that on your blog. I’ll have to hop over and check.
I see your comment love listing isn’t showing. It’s only happening to people in Europe and I can’t pin down why.
They look like pate a chou. Very pretty looking. I like the addition of the melon curd paired with a strawberry. mmm
Jackie @ PhamFatale.com’s last blog post..Goat Ricotta Cheese and Pine Nut Stuffed Baby Zucchini
Hi, there! I thought of pate a choux too, ’cause they reminded me of profiteroles when I sliced off the tops. This was a far sight faster! Thanks for stopping by.
A friend gave me a jar of lemon curd which I have not used. Can I use it as a layer cake filling?
Hi there, and welcome. You absolutely could use some of it between layers. You could also use it in a pre-baked pie shell. The tart I make that uses homemade lemon curd uses just the curd, no cream cheese or anything mixed in.