Feast on the Cheap

Entertaining Recipes for the Budget Gourmet

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Orange Curd Puff Pastry Tartlets

by 86 Comments

Mariel here. This past weekend, one of my bffs from college took the long walk down a short aisle, marrying another friend of mine in one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever attended. Everything was perfect – perfect weather, perfect Lela Rose dress, perfect yachty Montauk backdrop, perfect sunny-and-75 weather, which can be a real crap-shoot on the eastern tip of Long Island. Even the cake was perfect, so perfect that I thought the intricately sculpted, shockingly lifelike fondant flowers were in fact real and, to demonstrate their realness, I touched one. It was fake. And I was mortified. It was exactly the type of wedding that leaves you wishing you could relive yours all over again – and possibly hire the same baker. After bidding adieu to the last out-of-town friend and returning to a preternaturally quiet house, I was struck by a crippling case of the Sunday blues. There was no Bravo TV marathon that could get me over the hump so I decided to do what any self-respecting sugar addict does, and bake myself happy. I spent one blissful hour perusing my mother-in-law’s various old timey cookbooks – real hardbound books and everything! – and stumbled across Ina Garten’s recipe for Lime Curd. I’ve been riding the lime train hard recently, so I elected to switch up my citrus by making an orange-y treat and then house the filling in delightful little puff pastry shells. Let me just tell you, this happy little puff kicked my blues right to the curb, replacing it with a wondrous sugar high that kept the good times rolling until I passed out at 9PM. These tartlets are incredibly easy and so pretty to behold that they’d make ideal desserts for a bridal shower or afternoon party. I suspect they’ll become regular additions to our catering lineup. I made these both as tartlets, which can be eaten with a spoon, and as mini puff pastry bites (pictured above). The curd is incredibly versatile, so if puff pastry eludes you, spoon it onto mini waffles, into pre-baked tart shells or spread it on top of a scone for a breakfast treat. As a side note, you’ll need a good zester for this recipe since it calls for quite a bit of rind. Up until recently, I had an old fashioned knuckle-grater, the kind that infuses every dish with just a soupcon of skin as it tears apart your hands. That all changed when I stumbled across Edgeware zesters and graters. I know what you’re thinking – who gives a hoot, they’re all the same. But they’re not, these are so much better, so much smarter, so much friendlier to your baby-soft hands. I highly recommend investing in one – or all – and to get you started, I contacted the company and asked if they’d be interested in participating in a giveaway with us. They’ve kindly put together a dreamy package that includes a zester and various graters in fine, coarse and extra coarse grains. Here’s how to win it (GIVEAWAY CLOSED – Congrats to Cindy B!): 1. Swing by Edgeware.com and let us know what other utensil you need the most Bonus Entries (leave an extra comment for each, and if you already do any of the following, let us know, you’ll get credit!): 2. Like Edgeware on Facebook 3. Like Feast on the Cheap on Facebook 4. Follow Feast on the Cheap on Twitter 5. Follow Edgeware on Twitter 6. Tweet the following message one time: I wanna win @FeastontheCheap’s grater #giveaway from @SmithsEdgeware! http://wp.me/p1l2Zx-1m0 7. Subscribe to our newsletter or RSS feed (see our sidebar) Giveaway ends Monday June 27, 2011. Open to US residents only. Listed on Giveaway Scout

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Orange Curd Puff Pastry Tartlets Makes about 12 Tartlets or 40 Bites Yields about 1½ cups of Orange Curd

Ingredients: ½-cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (you’ll need about 3 medium-size oranges for this recipe) – $1.50 2 heaping Tablespoons of orange zest, separated (be mindful of not zesting the bitter white pith, you just want the very top layer of rind) – calculated above 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature – stock ¾-cup of sugar – stock 4 large eggs – stock sprinkle of salt – stock 1 package of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets or 2 packages of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry shells (the generic kind just doesn’t puff as nicely) – $5.79 Grand total assuming well-stocked kitchen: $7.29 Cost per tartlet: $0.60 Cost per bite: $0.18 Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prep and bake the puff pastry according to package directions then cool on wire racks. If you’re using the pastry sheets to make bite-size treats, use a cookie cutter or knife to carve out 1-inch wide circles or squares. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar and 1½ Tablespoons of orange zest until fluffy and pale. Crack each egg into a cup then add the eggs, one by one, until fully incorporated (cracking them into the cup will help keep any accidentally broken eggshells out of your curd). Slowly add the orange juice until well-combined and smooth. 3. Pour the orange curd into a big saucepan and heat over low to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Don’t allow to boil. The curd will start to thicken and become very creamy, then you know you’re done. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 4. Spoon the orange curd into the baked puff pastry shells or onto the puff pastry bites. Garnish with remaining orange zest and serve warm or at room temperature.

Comments

  1. Orange curd AND puff pastry? Sounds scrumptious! 🙂
    Other than a really good zester, I’ve been dying for a mandoline . Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  10. I really need a good zester!

    Also I already “like” your facebook page, the feast on the cheap facebook page, and I follow both Edgeware and Feast On the Cheap on Twitter!!!

    Reply

  11. A YUMMY treat for only $.60 a tarlet , wow , Mariel, this is a true FEAST ON THE CHEAP RECIPE. GREAT JOB, MARIEL.MY SWEET_TOOTH THANKS YOU! LOVE MRS.A

    Reply

  12. I really need a good zester! i just have this handheld cheese grater and it’s super lame.

    Reply

  16. If I only had a zester, I’d have so much more zest! And, I’ve been yearning for an electric knife sharpener for more than a year now. It’s time I got off the dime and got myself one of those. Thanks for bringing it up.

    I visited Edgeware.com and I friended you on FB long ago. Alas, I’m too old for Twitter. Don’t have an internet-connected cell phone, never will have, I’m sure; and don’t even know if there’s another way to tweet or be tweeted at.

    My biggest problem with these luscious little puff pastry things you keep posting is that there’s no such thing in my remote corner of Costa Rica as a package of puff pastry sheets or shells. I think I’m going to have to learn to make them from scratch. Yikes!

    Reply

    • Oh, that’s not fun having to make your own puff pastry. I’ll bet these little Orange Tartlets are equally delicious with regular pie crust. I’ve made plenty of Lemon Curd Tarts and Tartlets using my basic pie dough. If you need a walk thru the steps, just drop me a note on our gmail. It’s super easy and all you need is a tart pan and pie weights. If you don’t have weights, dry rice or dry beans work just fine! Mary Anne

      Reply

  35. A mandoline would be fantastic to have, also Edgeware’s zesters are prettier that the one I have !

    Reply

  36. Wow, these little tartlets look amazing – so simple but perfect for an impressive looking dessert. I popped over to Edgeware’s site and would love their Diamond Elite Pull Through knife sharpener.

    Reply

  49. I absolutely love puff pastries! I could definitely use a mandoline! Thank you for all the lovely recipes.

    Reply

  64. In addition to the zester and graters, I would love to have a mandoline! There’s just no way I can slice anything THAT thin with a knife.

    Reply

  75. I’d love to have the diamond sharpening stone… I have some beautiful knives that I want to keep sharp.

    Reply

  81. Just getting back into my normal creeping on the internet routine. Thanks for making me famous again and the nice words about the wedding! Makes me wish I’d had more than one bite of the cake too! Xoxo

    Reply

  82. Okay, I’ve never worked with puff pastry before. Do I bake it first and then cut out the circles? or cut out circles and bake?

    (Cutting and baking sounds more intuitive to me, but I’ve been wrong in the kitchen before. Horribly horridly wrong. LOL!)

    Reply

    • You’re right! Cut it before baking it, but do your best not to “touch” it too much. It’ll just make it a little less puffy.

      Reply

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