As requested from our gro CREATIVE event on May 24th – here is the recipe for Mary Kay’s Lemon Tarts. Mary Kay has severe nut allergies in her home so she substituted the almond flour with ground sunflower seeds – clever and tasty!
INGREDIENTS
COCONUT “CRUST”:
• 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 large egg whites
• ¾ cup raw granulated sugar
• ½ cup minus 2 Tbsp almond flour (or very finely ground almonds)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
LEMON CURD:
• Juice of 2 lemons, strained through a fine sieve
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 whole large egg
• Zest of 2 lemons
GARNISH:
• 24 fresh raspberries
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Spray 24-cup mini muffin tin thoroughly with baking spray or grease heavily with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In large bowl, stir together coconut, egg whites, sugar, almond flour (or ground sunflower seeds), and vanilla (it should stick together when pressed/squeezed).
3. Divide mixture evenly over 24 mini muffins, pressing mixture into bottom and up sides of muffins cups to form the crust. If the mixture is too sticky, moisten your fingers slightly with water to make forming them easier.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until top edges are deep golden brown and bottoms are just starting to brown. (If the crusts lose their shape too much while baking, use the back of a small spoon to quickly press the middles down slightly while they are hot to make a little dip to put the lemon curd in).
5. Cool crusts completely in pan on wire rack before unmolding gently by running a knife around the edges and popping them out.
6. While they are cooling, make the LEMON CURD:
7. Zest lemons and set zest aside.
8. Place strained lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat on low, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
9. Lightly whisk egg yolks and whole egg in a medium bowl.
10. Remove lemon syrup from heat and pour slowly into beaten eggs while constantly whisking the mixture. Continue to whisk by hand for one minute.
11. Return mixture to saucepan; add lemon zest, and heat on medium-low until it thickens, (whisking frequently to avoid making scrambled eggs!) — about 15-20 minutes.
12. Remove from heat. Transfer to a container and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap sits right against the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until coconut crusts are completely cooled, then divide lemon curd over tarts, approximately 1 tsp per tart. Top with fresh raspberry right before serving.
13. Store tarts in the refrigerator (if there are any left!!)
