Lime Tarts

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4 cup lime juice
Rind of 2 limes, grated
2 drops green food coloring
Tart shells, baked
Slivered almonds, toasted

Cook sugar and butter in top of double boiler until sugar is dissolved. Slowly add a little of hot mixture to eggs, stirring quickly. Pour egg mixture back into hot mixture, stirring constantly. Add lime juice, stirring almost constantly until thickened. Add rind; cool. Add food coloring. Chill.

To serve, pour into tart shells and sprinkle almonds on top.

Yields 8 individual or 24 bite-size tarts.

Lemon Zest Tart

Pastry Shell
2 cups unbleached flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits and chilled
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, chilled
1/4 cup ice water

Tart Filling
Zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
5 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatine
1/4 cup cold water

Prepare Pastry Shell. Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Whirl to blend. Drop in butter; pulse 3 or 4 times. Add the shortening and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the machine running, add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. When the mixture forms lumps, remove the dough from the work bowl and quickly press into a patty. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll dough out into an 11-inch circle. Ease into a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Trim the edge. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Bake the shell for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool.

Prepare Tart Filling. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, eggs, yolks and sugar in a heavy enamel saucepan. Cook the mixture over low heat, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened. Do not let boil. remove from heat. Sprinkle gelatine over the cold water in 1-cup glass measuring cup. Let stand 2 minutes for gelatine to soften. 

Place cup in small saucepan of simmering water, stirring gelatine occasionally to dissolve, about 2 minutes. stir gelatin into lemon mixture until well blended. Spread the filling evenly in the pastry shell. Chill completely before serving. Remove sides of tart pan. Decorate with citrus leaves.

Lemon Curd Tarts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter
5 tablespoons cold water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle the water gradually over flour mixture, stirring with a fork and drawing flour into a ball. Add just enough water to hold the mixture together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Pat into a ball and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Roll into a circle and cut shapes to fit small tart pans or muffin tins. Prick each shell with a fork and bake for 12 minutes. Cool.

Lemon Filling
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons freshly-grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add lemon juice, rind and sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add eggs and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 20 minutes. Cool. Fill tart shells and refrigerate until serving time.

Rustic Glazed Strawberry Tart with Almond Crust

Crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together flour, almonds, sugar, lemon rind and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form.

Whisk together egg and vanilla extract in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture until a dough forms. Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Place dough on baking sheet; pat into a 10-inch circle, forming a high edge. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until slightly browned, about 25 minutes. Place baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes; transfer shell to rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Topping
3/4 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry jam
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced
Sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Melt jam with lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat until spreadable. Spread 1/2 cup jam mixture over bottom of shell. Arrange strawberries on top, cut sides down and pointing out, starting in the center. Brush strawberries with remaining jam mixture.

Serve with whipped cream on the side, if desired.

NOTE: The shell may be prepared ahead of time and frozen up to 2 months. Thaw and prepare with fruit topping as recipe directs.

Raspberry Almond Tarts

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup almond paste, crumbled
1/3 cup whole blanched almonds, coarsely chopped

Beat the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flour and beat until blended. Chill, covered, for 1 hour.

Shape the chilled pastry into 24 (1-inch) balls. Press over the bottoms and sides of ungreased miniature muffin cups. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry preserves into each cup.

Combine the egg, sugar and almond paste in a bowl. Spoon 1 teaspoon over the preserves in each cup. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in the pan. Remove from the cups to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tarts may be frozen for up to one month.

Yield: 2 dozen tarts

Chocolate Razipane Tart

Source: Chef Rachelle Nutt

7 ounces almond paste
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons raspberry jam
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons spelt flour
6 tablespoons Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate
2/3 cup Ghirardelli chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a tart pan, then dust with a little ground chocolate. Set aside.

Grate almond paste into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and butter; mixing on high speed, mix until well combined. One tablespoon at a time, add 2 tablespoons raspberry jam, mixing between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix until the mixture is light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine ground chocolate and flour; stir to combine. Fold dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined. Spread batter evenly in the tart pan. Bake 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the between the center and the edge of the pan comes out clean. (Note: The middle of the tart will seem too soft but will set up while cooling.) Let tart cool on a wire rack.

Heat the chocolate chips, heavy whipping cream and remaining jam in a double-boiler until melted, making sure to whisk the mixture constantly to prevent scorching. Once the mixture is well blended and smooth, remove the pan from heat and pour the mixture over the cooled tart.

French Apricot Tarts

1 recipe Sesame Seed Pastry
1 (12 ounce) jar apricot preserves
36 canned apricot halves
1/4 cup red raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon apricot juice
Sweetened whipped cream, flavored
    with vanilla extract

Prepare 12 baked (5-inch) tart shells from Sesame Seed Pastry. Spread a thin coating of apricot preserves on bottom of each tart shell.

Drain apricot halves well and place 3 halves in each shell. Combine raspberry preserves and apricot juice and melt over low heat. Glaze top of apricots with preserves mixture. Refrigerate to set glaze.

With pastry tube make rosette ring of whipped cream around edge of fruit or spoon it around tarts.