CITRUS CURD AND
FRESH BERRY TARTLETS

Pastry Dough

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons cream

3 egg yolks

3 cups dried beans (for weighting pastry while baking)

Filling

12 whole eggs

12 yolks

2 cups citrus juice (a mixture of the juice of 2 lemons, 1 lime, 1 grapefruit, and 1 orange)

2 cups unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup black currants, divided

Raspberry-Ginger Coulis

24 ounces frozen raspberries

6 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 cup water

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the pastry dough, preheat the oven to 375°. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal (you may use food processor). Sprinkle in the cream and egg yolks and stir until the mixture just holds together. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Press into three 1/2-inch tart pans. Prick the bottoms of the pans with a fork and freeze for 10 minutes. Line the bottom of the tart pans with parchment paper or foil and fill with the dried beans. Bake the tarts for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and bake for 10 minutes longer. Remove the tarts from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool, remove the tart shells from the pan.

Note: Baking times may vary slightly, so watch for a golden brown color.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and citrus juice in the top of a double boiler over medium-high heat. Add the softened butter and sugar and stir constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Strain the warm mixture and refrigerate about 2 hours, until cooled. Stir in 1/2 cup of black currants. Fill the tart shells with the filling, reserving any remaining filling for assembly.

For the coulis, combine the raspberries, sugar, salt, water, ginger, and lemon juice in a deep pot and cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Purée the mixture in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula. Taste, and stir in a little more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Place 1 teaspoon of the reserved filling on a plate. Arrange a filled tart on top of the filling and ladle the raspberry-ginger coulis around the plate.

Makes 12 servings.