Lemon Cream Cheese Tart Food

MINI LEMON CHEESECAKE TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat 3 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter and lemon zest until blended. Gradually add flour, mix well. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour or until firm., Preheat oven to 325°. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; press onto the bottom and up sides of 24 ungreased mini muffin cups., For filling, in a small bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar and remaining cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon lemon juice and vanilla. Add egg; beat on low speed just until blended. Fill cups half full with cream cheese mixture. Bake 18-22 minutes or until set. Carefully run a knife around tarts to loosen from pan. Cool in pans on wire racks., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and remaining sugar; whisk in water. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; gently stir in food coloring and remaining lemon juice and butter. Cool to room temperature., Remove cooled tarts from pans. Spoon on topping; top with raspberries. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

LEMON CHEESECAKE TART

Steps:

• For the crust: Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. To prepare the crust, add the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and pulse just until the mixture is evenly moistened. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press it into the bottom and sides with a floured measuring cup. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line the cold pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place the lined tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until set and dry, about 20 minutes. Carefully lift the parchment and the weights to peek underneath and check. Remove the parchment and the weights and continue to bake the crust until light golden brown and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes more. Let the crust cool completely.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the sour cream. Add the eggs and mix. Scrape the filling into the prepared tart shell and smooth the top.
• Bake the tart on a baking sheet until the filling is set around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center, 23 to 26 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar and top with lemon slices to serve, if you like.

LEMON CHEESECAKE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. On a work surface, unroll crusts. Cut 24 circles with a floured 3-in. scalloped round cookie cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary. Press circles onto bottoms and partway up sides of ungreased muffin cups, smoothing edges. Prick bottoms generously with a fork., Bake until light golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and vanilla until blended; beat in 1/4 cup lemon curd. Fold in a third of the whipped topping, then fold in remaining topping., Spoon 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture into each tart shell; top each with 1 teaspoon lemon curd. Top with blueberries; refrigerate until serving. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar.

CLASSIC LEMON TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. (If you like, you can let the butter cook until it browns and smells nutty, 2 to 4 minutes longer.)
• Whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Drizzle in melted butter and, using a spatula, mix until well combined. Press this into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan, using a measuring cup if you like to flatten the tart shell and make sure it's even. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 months (wrap in plastic if storing for more than 4 hours).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line tart dough with a piece of foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and weights and continue to bake until the crust is very lightly golden at the edges and baked through on the bottom, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool. (Tart shell can be made up to 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature.)
• Make the curd: Put butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and mixture is hot, 4 to 5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, yolks and salt. Whisk the hot mixture gradually into the eggs to temper them. Then pour everything back into the saucepan and return to medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (170 degrees; do not overcook, or it will curdle), about 5 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Taste and add a bit more sugar if you like. It should taste tart but balanced.
• Spread the curd (it's OK if it's still warm) into the tart shell, spreading it evenly with a small offset spatula or butter knife. Return to the oven to bake until the curd is just set along the edges but still jiggly in the center, about 7 to 15 minutes. (It will continue to firm up as it cools.) Transfer back to the wire rack to cool completely, at least 2 hours, before serving. If the curd still looks a little loose after cooling, you can chill the tart for an hour or two before serving. Note that it's a soft curd but shouldn't be runny.