Who says finger food has to be savory? These yummy Lemon Curd Bites make for the perfect sweet treat. As you know, I’m all about cute desserts (I mean, have you seen my delicious Cookie Dough Bites?!) and these Lemon Curd Bites totally win first prize in my household!
This lemon curd recipe has an amazing flavor profile, with just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. I love serving them after a large dinner – when you’re absolutely full but still have a bit of room for dessert.
For the Lemon Curd:
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Fresh lemon juice, 3 large lemons (4 if small)
- 75 g sugar (â…” cup)
- 60 g chopped butter (¼ cup)
For the Pie Shells:
- â…“ cup shortening
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tbsp cold water
- Egg whites from 1 egg
Total cooking time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Yield: 12 mini lemon curd bites
For the dough:
Place the flour, shortening, salt, and 5 tbsp of ice cold water into a food processor and pulse 3-5 times. Once the dough turns into a crumbly texture that could be easily molded with your hands, it is ready.
Place the dough on a clean, floured surface and roll into a ball. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, you may add more water to it, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Once the dough is formed into a ball, wrap it in plastic and chill for one hour.
For the Lemon Curd:
To make the lemon curd, use the double boiler method by filling a saucepan with water and placing a large bowl on top of it (be sure the bowl is not touching the water). Keep the stove temperature on a low simmer.
In the bowl, add lemon juice, eggs and egg yolks, lemon zest, and sugar. With the bowl on top of the water-filled saucepan, begin to whisk your egg mixture.
Continue to whisk gently as the curd thickens. It’s important to not rush this process by taking it off the stove too soon or by turning the heat up. If the water boils you will cook the eggs too fast and make scrambled eggs instead of a curd!
As your stir, you’ll see the curd thicken to a lumpy solid. If you have a cooking thermometer, wait for the curd to reach 165-170 Fahrenheit, which takes about 10-20 minutes.
While the curd is still hot, fold in the cold, chopped to help balance out the acid from the lemon (creating a creamy and silky richness). Fold until butter is melted.
Optional: Put the lemon curd through a strainer to separate the lemon zest and any bits of egg that may have solidified.
Place the curd in the refrigerator and allow to chill for at least 5 minutes (as it cools, it will thicken some more).
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
After the dough has, roll it out on a clean, floured surface until it’s about 1/8 of an inch thick.
Place your tart shell tins underneath the dough and press down on the dough (or roll over it with your rolling pin) to get a perfect cut for the shell.
Score the bottom of each shell with a fork 2-3 times, line with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans.
If using individual molds, place them all on a sheet pan for easy transportation in and out of the oven.
Bake 25 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the weights and foil and brush the pie shells with egg white wash. Bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Place the shells on a drying rack and allow to cool completely before filling with lemon curd.
Notes:
– If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make the dough by hand. I noticed that I needed 5 tbsp of cold water when handmaking it, however.
– No mini tart shell molds? No problem! You can also use a mini cupcake tin to create the shells.
– You can use butter or a butter substitute for the shortening in the dough recipe. Do this by adding 1 tbsp extra butter to the shortening measurement. The dough mixes
faster and is easier to handle, but I found it to have a slightly rubbery texture.
– This recipe can be made ahead of time. The lemon curd will last up to a week in the refrigerator. If making the shells ahead of time, be sure to keep it in an airtight container.