Small deep tarts of thin puff pastry filled with fresh curd cheese beaten with butter, eggs, cream, currants, lemon and nutmeg, baked until puffed and well browned. Unlike a custard tart, the filling is a light, slightly grainy curd cheesecake with a buttery, spiced flavor. Makes 12 tarts in about 1 hr 40 min.
Prep30 min
Cook30 min
Cooling25 min
Total
1 hr 40 min
Servings
12
Ingredients
Adjust yield
servings
Scales from a half to a double batch. Laminated and yeasted doughs are easiest to handle one batch at a time; bake extra pans in rounds.
1 ⅔ cups (375 g)all-butter puff pastry, chilled
2 tbsp (15 g)all-purpose flour, for rolling
9 oz (250 g)curd cheese, or well-drained farmer's cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup (60 g)unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup (75 g)superfine sugar
2(100 g)eggs, beaten
⅓ cup (30 g)fine dry breadcrumbs
2 tbsp (30 ml)heavy cream
3 ½ oz (100 g)currants
1 tsp (2 g)lemon zest, finely grated, about 1 tsp
½ tsp (1 g)ground nutmeg, about 1/2 tsp, freshly grated
Dust the counter with the all-purpose flour and roll the all-butter puff pastry very thin, about 1/16 inch (2 mm). Cut twelve 4-inch (10 cm) rounds and press them into the muffin cups so the pastry comes up the sides. Prick the bases and chill 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the filling: mash the curd cheese with a fork until fairly smooth, then beat in the softened unsalted butter and superfine sugar.
Beat in the eggs a little at a time, then stir in the fine dry breadcrumbs, heavy cream, currants, lemon zest, ground nutmeg and brandy. The mixture will be soft and loose.
Spoon the filling into the chilled pastry cases, filling them about three quarters full, and grate a little extra nutmeg over each.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes, until the pastry puffs and the filling begins to rise. Lower to 325°F (160°C) and bake 12 to 15 minutes more, until the filling is set, browned on top and the pastry is deep golden.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift the tarts onto a rack. The filling sinks a little as it cools.
Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
Tips
Curd cheese should be dry; if using cottage cheese, press it in a cloth for an hour and push it through a sieve first.
Rolling the puff pastry thin keeps it crisp rather than doughy under the moist filling.
Classic curd tarts are browned quite deeply; do not take them out while the tops are pale.
The filling contains raw egg and cheese; bake until set in the center (160°F / 71°C) and refrigerate leftovers.
Made this?
Log it to keep your bakes, ratings and notes together in My Kitchen.
How long does it take to make leicestershire curd tart?
Plan on 30 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, plus 40 minutes to rise, chill and rest. The recipe makes 12 tarts (12 servings).
How should I store leicestershire curd tart?
Refrigerate, covered, up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
Can I make leicestershire curd tart ahead?
It is at its best the day it is made; prepare it a few hours before serving.
Leicestershire curd tarts are small cheesecake-style tarts made with fresh milk curds, butter, currants and nutmeg baked in thin puff pastry, a dairy-country bake also linked with Whitsun feasts in the county. Serve it with english breakfast tea.
Variations
Orange-zest version: use 1 tsp (2 g) finely grated orange zest instead of lemon; bake time unchanged.
One large tart: line a 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate with shortcrust pastry, blind bake 15 minutes at 400°F (200°C), fill and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
Rosewater version: replace the brandy with 1 tsp (5 ml) rosewater, as in some old East Midlands and Yorkshire recipes.
Estimated · per serving
Nutrition
Per serving = 1 of 12 servings this recipe makes.
310Calories / serving
18.7gFat
29.4gCarbs
6.2gProtein
12.4gSugar
Whole recipe (12 servings):
~3720 cal ·
224g fat ·
353g carbs ·
74g protein ·
149g sugar
Estimated values per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not verified Nutrition Facts; actual values vary with brands, measurements, and preparation.
Recipe Rating
0 commentsNo comments yet — be the first to share how this turned out for you.
Leave a comment