Lemon Poppy Seed Tarts Recipe

Flaky Crusts with a Sweet & Tart Lemony Filling & Whipped Cream

© Donna Diegel

Feb 9, 2008

Lemon Poppy Seed Tarts

Decorated with a perfect edible pansy, Lemon Poppy Seed Tarts are just the thing for a special tea party, Easter, Mother's Day or just because! Make some with meringue and pile the others high with sweetened whipped cream. The tarts are easy to make because the dough is made in a food processor and doesn't have to be rolled out. Just roll into a ball, place in a tart pan, press into place with your fingers and bake!

Tips and Tools:

• Tart pans: These cute little pans are just the right size for dainty pastries. They can be found at any kitchen store such as Bed, Bath & Beyond or Williams-Sonoma. The tarts can also be made in greased mini muffin tins
• Tamper: A small wooden tool called a tamper, fits right in the tart pan, and can also be found in kitchen stores or catalogs like Pampered Chef.
• Mixer: A high-speed KitchenAid Mixer will whip up mounds of whipped cream.
• Food Processor: Cuisinart makes a great food processor that will make this dough quick and easy.
• Zester: The Microplane Grater/Zester is a "great" tool for zesting and grating fluffy mounds of citrus fruits, chocolate and hard cheese. It has a long handle to hold firmly and the file is long and extremely sharp.

Lemon Poppy Seed Tart Shell Recipe:

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp cold water

Directions:

1. Prepare 16-18, 3 inch tart pans or mini muffin pans with vegetable shortening spray. Set aside.
2. Place flour, sugar, salt and poppy seeds in food processor and pulse once or twice to mix.
3. Add cold butter and pulse on and off until mixture looks like coarse meal.
4. Add yolk and lemon juice, pulse again.
5. Add water one Tbsp at a time until dough forms a ball against the sides of the food processor bowl.
6. Remove dough and divide into 16-18 equal portions. Roll each piece of dough into a ball using the palms of your hands and place each one in a prepared tart pan.
7. With your fingers, press dough on the bottom and up against the sides of the pan, all the way to the rim. A wooden tamper can also be used to press dough up and around the sides of the pan.
8. Place tart shells in refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Bake shells for 15-25 minutes or until light golden.

Lemon Pie Filling Recipe:

• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup combination of freshly squeezed and bottled lemon juice
• 2-3 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 4 large egg yolks, beaten
• 3 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Blend sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a stainless saucepan.
2. Add water, lemon juice, lemon zest and beaten egg yolks and bring to a boil on low-medium heat, stirring and whisking often. Do not allow it to stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.
3. Continue at a low boil until filling is thick, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat and without stirring, let butter melt on top of filling.
5. After the butter melts, stir in.
6. Place plastic wrap directly on top of filling and let cool 10 minutes.
7. Carefully pour or spoon filling into tart shells, cover the tray with plastic wrap and let tarts cool completely.

Sweetened Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup Whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted (confectioners sugar)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, beat cream and vanilla until it sets up. There is no way to explain how long this will take. Every mixer is different. It should be light and fluffy and look like very soft whipped cream.
2. Add powdered sugar and beat until the whipped cream is fluffy and stiff. Do not let it get to the butter stage which can happen very quickly.
3. Spoon whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip and decorate the lemon tarts.
4. Before serving, decorate with a perfect edible pansy, sprinkles or candy confetti.
5. Refrigerate any leftovers.
6. Makes 16-18 tarts

If you love lemon desserts, try Classic Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Tea Cake and Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.

Juicy Lemons

Edible Pansy

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