Lemon Poppy Seed Tartlet With A Strawberry Rose Food

LEMON POPPY SEED TARTLET WITH A STRAWBERRY ROSE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Stir in flour, poppy seeds, and salt until dough comes together and no floury streaks remain.
• Pinch off 1 1/2 teaspoon-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on the lined baking sheets. Press down on each ball with your thumb to create a small indent.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon to reinforce each indent. Continue baking until cookies are barely golden around the edges, about 5 minutes more.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar together in a bowl until well blended. Fill each cooled cookie with 1/2 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture.
• Make 4 deep cuts along the bottom third of each strawberry using a sharp paring knife. Fan out the cuts carefully so they open up. Repeat this process, cutting in between the cuts from the row below, until you reach the top.
• Place a strawberry rose over each cookie; tuck 1 or 2 mint leaves around each strawberry.

LEMON AND POPPY SEED TARTLETS

Steps:

• Make tart shells:
• Pulse together flour, confectioners sugar, salt, and poppy seeds in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together yolk, water, and lemon juice in a bowl, then add to processor and pulse until pea-size lumps form and dough holds together when squeezed. (Dough will appear slightly crumbly.)
• Press 1/4 cup dough evenly into each tart shell with floured fingers (dough will be moist) and lightly prick bottoms with a fork. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Put shells on a baking sheet and bake in lower third of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and, when shells are just cool enough to handle, carefully loosen edges with a thin knife and remove from pans.
• Fill tart shells and make topping:
• Fill each shell with 3 tablespoons lemon curd.
• Beat together cream with confectioners sugar and lemon juice in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Transfer to a pastry bag with a decorative tip and pipe onto curd (or dollop frosting with a spoon).