Lemon Curd Tarts with Fresh Blueberries

These tart, delicious treats flew off the plate! I had to hide one away inside so that I wouldn't miss out on dessert when I was putting Audrey down for the evening.

Lemon Curd Tarts
Kelley Gondring

Makes 36 tarts

Lemon Curd
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup strained lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt

Place egg yolks in a small bowl. Gently whisk to break up the yolks. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt. Bring to a simmer. Whisk constantly for a minute or two so that all of the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, reduce the heat to medium low. Remove 1/2 cup of the lemon mixture and whisk into the bowl of egg yolks. Once combined, pour the egg yolks into the saucepan and whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, about two minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, placing plastic directly on the surface of the lemon curd (this prevents a rind from forming). Let cool completely before piping into tart shells.

While lemon curd is cooling, prepare tart shells.

Tart Shells
6 ounces cream cheese, chilled
16 tablespoons unsalted butter butter, chilled
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream [only if necessary]

Place cream cheese, butter, flour and salt into food processor. Pulse together until a coarse meal forms. If dough is too dry (will look like sand and not hold together when pinched between two fingers), drizzle one tablespoon of the heavy cream over the dough. Pulse 5-10 times. If dough is still too dry, use remaining tablespoon of cream. Remove the pastry dough and form a large ball. Place in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Form 36 individual balls. Press into greased mini-muffin pans. Because we are going to bake these tarts before filling them, you'll need to weigh them down with aluminum foil and beans. It is kind of a pain in the butt, but it will be well worth your efforts.

Bake 15 minutes.

Let cool before removing foil and piping in lemon curd.

Garnish with blueberries.

Eat up!