Lemon Curd and Raspberry Tartlets, Ready in 15 Minutes

1. Rub the lemon zest into the caster sugar with your fingertips for about 30 seconds, until the sugar is damp and smells strongly of lemon. This pulls the oil out of the zest, and it is the difference between curd that tastes of lemon and curd that only tastes sour.
2. Whisk in the eggs, the extra yolks, the lemon juice and the salt.
3. Pour into a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly with a spatula, into the corners, for 6 to 8 minutes. It is ready when it coats the spatula thickly and holds the line when you draw a finger through it. Do not let it boil, or the egg will scramble.
4. Off the heat, beat in the cold butter a few cubes at a time. Each addition should disappear before the next goes in. The curd will turn glossy and pale.
5. Push it through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, press cling film onto the surface and refrigerate for at least an hour, until set and firm enough to spoon without running.
6. Fill the cases within an hour of serving. Two teaspoons of curd in each, levelled with the rim, is right; more and the raspberry slides off.
7. Sit one or two raspberries on each tartlet, point upward. Leave them whole so they hold their shape and do not weep into the curd.
8. To glaze, loosen the preserve with a teaspoon of hot water, push it through a sieve and brush a thin coat over the berries. Dust with icing sugar as the tray leaves the kitchen, not before: on wet fruit it dissolves within a few minutes.

What holds, and what does not

The curd is the make-ahead part. Sealed in a clean jar it keeps for a week in the fridge, and it freezes for three months; thaw it overnight in the fridge and whisk it smooth. The cases keep for months in the cupboard, sealed in their pack. Once that pack is open, humidity is the enemy, and a summer kitchen will soften them in an afternoon. If they have gone quiet, three minutes at 150°C on a dry tray brings the snap back, then cool them completely before filling.

Filled tartlets are the part that will not wait. Assemble them within the hour and they stay crisp underneath. Left overnight they are still pleasant, but soft, and the point of them was the snap.

Scaling up is easy: the curd doubles without any trouble, and the 55mm medium sweet cases take about a tablespoon each if you want a plated dessert rather than a one-bite thing. For a spread with a savoury end, the smoked salmon tartlets use the 37mm savoury case, so both trays come out of the same part of the pantry. Our dessert board guide covers what else to put around them.

Questions we get asked

What can you fill mini tart cases with?

Anything thick enough to sit still. Lemon curd, chocolate ganache, thick custard or crème pâtissière, whipped mascarpone with jam underneath, or sweetened ricotta with a little zest. Avoid anything wet or loose: cream that has not been whipped firmly, or fruit that has been sugared and left to sit, will run through the base within minutes.

How long do filled tart cases keep?

About an hour at their best, and a few hours at a push. Moisture moves out of the filling and into the pastry from the moment they meet, so the base softens from the inside. A barrier helps if you must fill early: a thin smear of melted white or dark chocolate inside each case, set for 10 minutes in the fridge, will buy you two or three hours.

Can you freeze filled pastry cases?

Not with any success. The pastry comes out of the freezer damp, because the filling releases water as it thaws and the shell absorbs it. Freeze the curd on its own instead, keep the cases in the cupboard, and put the two together on the day. That way the only fresh thing you need is the raspberries.

Keep a pack or two in the cupboard and this dessert is always within reach: the Confiletas pastry cases sit with the rest of the Confiletas range, and the festive entertaining shelf is worth a look while you are there. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100.