Little Whole Grain Lemon Tarts are a Two-Bite Treat

Tart lemon curd tucked into mini whole wheat pastry cups can be an everyday treat.

I love tart, tart lemon curd, the sort that puckers your mouth but doesn’t quite make you squint. My kids love it too so we have it in the fridge, a lot. (And I have to tell you that the jar is a mess with finger dips.)

My son will spread it on anything, my daughter likes it on her fingers but I like to tuck it into mini whole grain pastry cups.
Whole grain pastry pairs beautifully with this lovely creamy tart lemon curd.  It’s wholesome and very flavourful with an almost nutty-tasting edge. The pastry recipe below is my go-to pastry. I use it for everything from fruit galettes to savoury spinach pie.

Variations:
Try the curd recipe with flavourful meyer lemons, or limes.

Green tip:
Look for stone-ground whole grain pastry instead of regular grocery store whole wheat flour. It actually contains the whole grain (unlike grocery store whole wheat flour) and has all of the bran and wheat germ intact. That’s where you get the extra flavour and nutrition.

These little lemon tarts travel well so make a nice treat for school lunches.

Tart Lemon Curd

• ¼ cup butter

• ½ cup sugar

• 3 eggs, beaten

• ½ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

• Zest of one lemon

1. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. While butter is melting, whisk the remaining ingredients together and add to the pot once the butter has melted.
3. Stir constantly until it thickens, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and cool. 

Flaky Wholegrain Pastry for lemon tarts

• 2 1/2 cups flour (whole white and whole wheat pastry flours are nice together, or spelt flour)

• 2 tsp. sugar

• ¾ tsp. salt

• 1 cup cold butter

• ½ cup ice water

1. Add dry ingredients & cubed butter to food processor.
2. Process just until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle in ice water and process until mixture starts to clump together. (Be careful not to over mix.)
3. Pat into a disk & chill for at least 30 min.
4. Roll out pastry and cut into disks that fit into mini muffin tins (no need to grease them).
5. Bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes or until the little cups start to brown around the edges.
6. When cool, fill with the lemon curd.