Strawberry and Mascarpone Tartlets with Lemon Curd
Zesty and fresh, these beautiful strawberry and mascarpone tartlets with lemon curd are perfect for a summer party. Celebrating strawberry season with and easy and delicious dessert.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the lemon curd
- 1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar I use unrefined granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt a pinch
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 zest of a lemon
Ingredients for the tartlets
- 300 g fresh strawberries (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 sheet puff pastry 320g/11.28 oz./0.70 lb
- 4-5 tbsp whole milk
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 250 g mascarpone (approx. 1 cup/8 oz.)
- 8 tbsp lemon curd
Instructions
For the lemon curd
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 and 1/4 cups of granulated sugar with 1 tbsp of cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
- Stir with a whisk.
- Add 1 cup of fresh lemon juice.
- Add 3 large eggs (room temperature).
- Mix well.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, while stirring constantly with a whisk.
- Reduce the heat to low, and continue stirring until it starts to thicken.
- Remove from heat and stir in 2 tbsp of unsalted butter and lemon zest (from 1 large lemon).
- Mix well and transfer the mixture into a bowl.
- Put plastic wrap on the hot mixture's surface to avoid creating a crust on top.
- Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- Can last for up to one week in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.
For the tartlets
- Make the lemon curd ahead of time per the instructions above.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (392 degrees F).
- Unroll the pastry sheet, cut it into 8 equal rectangles and arrange it on a large baking tray lined with the parchment paper that comes with the puff pastry (no waste needed).
- Score a 1cm (a bit less than half an inch) border around the edge of each rectangle and pierce the middles all over with a fork.
- Take a pastry brush and brush all over the rectangles with a little milk and scatter all over with 2 tbsp of the granulated sugar.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Gently press down on the middles of each cooled tart shell (use the back of a fork or a spoon).
- Let them cool down completely.
- Meanwhile, wash and hull the strawberries.
- Slice the strawberries into quarters if larger or, if you have lots of small strawberries, cut them into halves.
- In a medium bowl, mix the lemon juice with 1 tbsp of the remaining granulated sugar. Toss in the strawberries and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the mascarpone with 1 tbsp of powdered sugar and 1 tbsp of milk.
- Add 1 tbsp of the creamy lemon curd to each tart shell and spread it in the middle.
- On top of the lemon curd, add 1 tbsp of the mascarpone cheese mixture.
- Layer the strawberry slices on top of the tart.
- Pour a bit of the strawberry liquid that's left from the strawberry mixture on each tartlet.
- Sprinkle a bit of lemon zest (optional).
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- make sure you stir continuously into the mixture while it's cooking, to avoid clumps or burns on the bottom or sides of the pan.
- the curd will continue to harden while it's cooling off, so make sure not to overcook it.
- make it ahead of time as it needs quite a bit of time to cool off.
- this strawberry lemon dessert should be served as fresh as possible. Storing it for too long will make the tartlets soggy and unappealing.
- use the leftover lemon curd (if you haven't eaten it already) to make homemade lemon ice cream. Use my easy and incredibly creamy homemade vanilla ice cream as a base.