Lemon Cheese Tarts

INGREDIENTS:-

Pastry
83g butter, chilled
150g high-ratio/cake flour
40g icing sugar
10g milk powder,
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 Grade C egg

Filling
250g cream cheese
100g sugar
1 Tbsp Plain flour
1 Egg
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 Lemon zest grated
80g Yoghurt

Lemon Curd
1 egg yolk
60g sugar
20 - 30g lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp Butter


INSTRUCTIONS:-

To prepare pastry
1) Sift flour, icing sugar and milk powder together into a mixing bowl.
2) Rub in butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3) Add in the egg and vanilla essence. Mix it until the pastry begins to form large lumps.
4) Press together gently with your fingers until the pastry forms a ball.
5) Chill pastry dough for about 30 minutes.

To prepare filling
1) Beat cream cheese and sugar till creamy.
2) Add in flour and egg and beat till creamy.
3) Then put in lemon juice and yoghurt. Finally add in zest, give it a gentle stir to mix zest in.
4) Set aside.

To prepare tarts
1) Press some pastry evenly into tart mould. Trim the edges to remove excessive dough.
2) Prick base of each tart with a fork.
3) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degC for 10 minutes.
4) Remove tart from oven and fill tart with cheese filling.
5) Send back to a preheated oven at 180 degC for further 10 - 15 minutes or till cheese is firm.
6) Leave the tarts in moulds for 10 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool.

To prepare lemon curd
1) Beat butter, yolk and sugar till well mixed.
2) Cook over a pot of simmering water (double-boiler) until it thickens and flowy. While cooking, add in lemon juice bit by bit and adjust the sourness to your liking. Do not overcook otherwise you can't pour on top of the set cheese tart.
3) Set aside to cool.
4) Pour mixture into piping bag, snipped off the tip and pipe on top of cooled tarts.


Note:-

1) When making pastry, size of egg very important. If egg too big, mixture will be too wet. In such situation, add in more cake flour till it could form a dough.


[adapted recipe from Jo's Deli & Bakery & Aunty Lucy]