Last weekend I attended a gnome themed housewarming. My first thought was to make cupcakes that looked like toadstools. I’m sure they would have been adorable, but their main appeal would have been visual and I always prefer to make things that stand out because of their flavor. I decided to focus on making something “gnome sized” instead and settled on these adorable lime curd bites and pecan tassies (recipe next week.)
The lime curd should be completely chilled before you use it. Make it at least several hours before, but it can also be made up to a week in advance.
Ingredients:
- 4 limes at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 extra-large eggs at room temperature (I used 4 large eggs and it worked fine)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Zest 4 limes with a Microplane, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the limes to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lime zest. Add– the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lime juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. (Mine took 14 minutes to thicken). Remove from the heat and set aside. If you’ve never made curd before and are wondering if it’s thick enough, then it’s not done. You’ll know when it’s thickened because suddenly it will become thick.
Cream Cheese Pastry
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
To make the dough:
Cream the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment. Mix in 1 cup of flour and salt on medium-low speed until almost incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and mix in 1/2 cup of flour using a wooden spoon. Knead in remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Do not overwork. Divide dough into two disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Making the pastry cups will be much easier if your dough is divided evenly. If you have a kitchen scale I would recommend using it. Chill for at least 30 minutes. The dough can also be made several days ahead.
To make the pastry cups:
Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. If you have a kitchen scale weigh your dough. Divide the weight by 24 to get the target weight for each ball of dough. Using your scale divide dough into 24 equal pieces. If you do not have a scale: divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and then further divide the dough into 6 pieces. Be very careful to divide the dough evenly so the cups are all the same size.
Press each ball of dough into one cup of the mini muffin tin. After making all the dough cups place the pan in the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°. When the oven is preheated remove your muffin tin and use a fork to punch holes in the bottom of each pastry cup. This will allow the steam to escape. Bake the cups for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
When the cups come out of the oven they will be quite puffy. Don’t worry. As the dough cools they will become less puffy and look more like cups.
Let the cups rest for a few minutes after they come out of the oven. Then gently remove them from the pan and allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack.
When the cups are cool use a tablespoon to fill each cup with lime curd. (You will have about a cup of lime curd leftover. It will last several weeks in the refrigerator in a glass jar.)
Place a blueberry (or raspberry) in each cup.
