Lemon and raspberry tartlets recipe

Last week, my kids and I were visiting the local farmers market and saw juicy raspberries wrapped in a picturesque aquamarine color, waiting for small, messy hands to happily eat them. We ate most of them on the way home, but saved some to make these delicate tarts for a picnic the next day.

The crust I created for these pies is based on a general ratio of ingredients that, if followed exactly, results in a sensational pie crust. Proportions are great to use when baking—they’re usually easy to remember and allow for maximum creativity. This pie crust is as easy as 3-2-1. In fact, at the Culinary Institute of America, it’s called the “3-2-1 pie crust” created by Chef George Higgins. The breakdown is as follows: 3 parts flour; 2 parts fat; 1 part liquid.

In my recipe I combined a few flours, added an egg as a binder to make the dough a little more pliable, sugar for sweetness, and vanilla for flavor. Right out of the oven, my kids gobbled them up almost as fast as fresh raspberries from the market. Packaged in little bags, they were a hit at our picnic, too! When you find fresh berries at your market, I hope you’ll think about making these sweet and easy tarts!

Butter cake batter and shortbread cookies :Using a pie crust ratio of 3-2-1

Makes 12 5” cakes

It’s time to Mix: 10 minutes Rest:30 minutes Roll and shape: 20 minutes Bake:30 minutes Cool:10 minutes Eat: 1 minute

Total time: about 1 ½ hours – 2 hours

Ingredients

9 oz flour total :the breakdown below

-4 oz whole wheat pastry flour

-3 oz almond flour

-2 oz coconut flour

6 oz butter, very cold and cut into cubes (1 ½ sticks)

~3 oz of liquid total – breakdown below

-1 beaten egg

-2 teaspoons vanilla

-3 tablespoons of ice water

-1 teaspoon of salt

-2 tablespoons of sugar

Raspberry filling

2 pints of raspberries

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch

Egg wash

1 beaten egg

2 tablespoons milk, the richer the better for a more golden crust.

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Instructions

Grab a scale and weigh out the quantities of flour. Add salt and sugar to the flour and then pour it into a food processor fitted with a blade. Add the cold (almost frozen) butter cubes to the food processor. Pulse a few times to gently incorporate the butter.

In a separate small bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of ice water. Add the mixture to the food processor and pulse until the dough begins to come together. If the dough seems dry, add a little more water, a teaspoon at a time. Pulse the dough a few more times until it looks like a crumbly texture with varying bits of butter throughout and holds together when you squeeze it.

On parchment paper, shape it into a circle or square, depending on how you prefer the final shape of the roll. Chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.

Meanwhile, prepare the oven. Preheat to 160°C. Line the cupcake liners with parchment paper, remove the cookie cutters and brush with the egg wash.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm slightly before rolling out, about 5 minutes. Prepare the raspberry filling by mixing together the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest.

Between two sheets of parchment paper or two resealable plastic bags (with the edges cut off) and dusted with flour, roll out the dough until it is ¼ inch thick. Use a large circle cutter to shape the dough and a smaller cutter to make an air hole, or cut a square of dough and make an air hole with small slices.

Once you have the shape, fill it with raspberry filling; brush the inside edges with egg and press them together. Before placing them in the oven, brush the outside of the dough with egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar to give it a nice colour and crunch.

Bake in oven on third rack from bottom for 20 minutes at 325°F; increase temperature to 375°F and move pies to third rack from top to bottom for golden finish, about 5 to 10 minutes longer.

When the empanadillas are finished baking, let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Chef’s Notes:

The flour in this proportion can be any flour. All-purpose flour is a good choice to start with. The softer the flour or the less protein or gluten it contains, the more tender the crust will be.

The fat can be butter, lard, lard, or a mixture of them.

The liquid is usually water, but you can also use juice.

The flour, butter and water should be very Cold to prevent the protein/gluten from activating. I put the flour and butter in the freezer before mixing and add ice to the water to keep it cold.

I’ve found that a variation in the size of the butter in a dough creates a flakier dough. Try not to overmix the dough until all the butter is in “pea sizes” as they say. Some should be pea-sized, while others should be edamame-sized (if we’re sticking with the green vegetable metaphors…) even pistachio-sized… well, it’s still green.

Lastly, try not to manipulate the dough too much while shaping it before letting it rest in the fridge. You don’t want to activate the gluten or proteins in the flour, as this will make the dough tough and chewy. Gather it up, wrap it up, and say, “See you in thirty!” That being said, though, this dough I made is pretty forgiving. Just be kind, give it some love, and it will give it back to you.

Skip the sugar and vanilla for a more flavorful crust. Also add parmesan or herbs to the crust to enhance the savory flavors – oh, the possibilities…

For 2-9” pies, start with 12 oz. flour; 8 oz. fat; 4 oz. liquid. Go from there and have fun!

Lemon and raspberry tarts

Ingredients

• All-Butter Pie Crust: Using a 3-2-1 pie crust ratio

• Makes 12 5” cakes

• Mixing time: 10 minutes Resting time: 30 minutes Rolling and shaping: 20 minutes Baking time: 30 minutes Cooling time: 10 minutes Eating time: 1 minute

• Total time: about 1 ½ hours – 2 hours

• Ingredients

• 9 oz flour total – breakdown below

• -4 oz whole wheat pastry flour

• -3 oz almond flour

• -2 oz coconut flour

• 6 oz butter, very cold and cut into cubes (1 ½ sticks)

• ~3 oz of liquid total – breakdown below

• -1 beaten egg

• -2 teaspoons vanilla

• -3 tablespoons of ice water

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons of sugarRaspberry filling

• 2 pints of raspberries

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 tablespoon of sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch

• Egg wash

• 1 beaten egg

• 2 tablespoons milk, the richer the better for a more golden crust.

• 3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (to sprinkle on top)

Instructions

1. Grab a scale and weigh out the quantities of flour. Add salt and sugar to the flour and then pour it into a food processor fitted with a blade. Add the cubes of cold (almost frozen) butter to the food processor. Pulse it a few times to gently incorporate the butter.
2. In a separate small bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of ice water. Add the mixture to the food processor and pulse until the dough begins to come together. If the dough seems dry, add a little more water, a teaspoon at a time. Pulse the dough a few more times until it looks like a crumbly texture with varying bits of butter throughout and holds together when you squeeze it.
3. On parchment paper, shape it into a circle or square, depending on how you prefer the final shape of the roll. Chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the oven. Preheat to 160°C. Line the cupcake liners with parchment paper, remove the cookie cutters and brush with the egg wash.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm slightly before rolling out, about 5 minutes. Prepare the raspberry filling by mixing together the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest.
6. Between two sheets of parchment paper or two resealable plastic bags (with the edges cut off) and dusted with flour, roll out the dough until it is ¼ inch thick. Use a large circle cutter to shape the dough and a smaller cutter to make an air hole, or cut a square of dough and make an air hole with small slices.
7. Once you have the shape, fill it with raspberry filling; brush the inside edges with egg and press them together. Before placing them in the oven, brush the outside of the dough with egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar to give it a nice colour and crunch.
8. Bake in oven on third rack from bottom for 20 minutes at 325°F; increase temperature to 375°F and move pies to third rack from top to bottom for golden finish, about 5 to 10 minutes longer.
9. When the cakes are finished baking, let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
10. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.