For a lot of people, Valentine’s Day means chocolate. Not surprisingly, Valentine’s Day is responsible for a spike in chocolate sales each year, although Easter and Halloween bring even higher figures. Still, 50-60 million pounds of Valentine’s Day chocolate is nothing to scoff at! While I love chocolate as much as the next person, I felt that St. Valentine and Cupid might like a change of pace – sort of like when parents suggest leaving beer instead of milk for Santa.
I’ve always loved lemony desserts: lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, macarons with lemon curd, etc. Sometimes as a child I would request a lemon meringue pie in lieu of a more traditional birthday cake, but truth be told, I never really cared much for the meringue – the lemon custard layer was where the magic happened, as far as I was concerned. These tartlets are like miniature lemon pies, sans meringue, and with some raspberry purée to lend a more festive hue.
These raspberry lemon tartlets are the perfect blend of sweet and, well, tart – which is fitting, in a way, since I think many of us know that love too can often be a blend of sweet and tart (not to mention Valentine’s Day itself, also known as SAD – Singles Awareness Day). Regardless of whether you’re making these for a special someone or as a treat for yourself, I hope these tartlets are the only thing tart about your Valentine’s Day this year!
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) dairy-free margarine, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1 cup raspberries (plus more for decorating, if desired)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (if using fresh lemons, this is about 2 lemons)
- 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add half of a beaten egg (this is about 2-3 tablespoons) and mix until incorporated. Add flours and beat until a soft dough forms, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Place dough in an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (you can chill the dough overnight if you wish).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Scoop chilled dough with a spoon and roll with your hands to form 1-inch diameter balls. Place each in a separate cup of an ungreased mini-muffin pan. Use a tart tamper to press the dough into tartlet shells. Alternatively, you can roll out the dough (like you would for a pie) and shape it into the muffin pan cups with your fingers, but take my word for it – using a tart tamper is so much easier! Once dough is pressed into shells, set aside.
- Wash and drain raspberries. Place in a food processor or blender and pulse until liquefied. Spoon the purée through a fine strainer to remove the seeds.
- In the bowl of a mixer, combine eggs, sugar, and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Add in raspberry purée and mix. Stir in flour and beat until smooth.
- Carefully spoon the fruit mixture into the tartlet shells, making sure not to fill any too full. The mixture will not rise much while baking, but if the shells are filled up to the top, they may run over.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the fruit mixture has set. If desired, place raspberries (or raspberry halves) on top while tarts are fresh from the oven.
- Adapted from Martha Stewart and Smitten Kitchen.
Too many inviting recipes to try!
Always a good problem to have!
These are absolutely gorgeous! I love lemon treats as well but these raspberry ones are a great change of pace!
Thanks!! I really like the combination of raspberries and lemon – sweet but not cloying – and the colors are so naturally cheery.
These are so pretty! I love the combination of lemon and raspberry. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
My pleasure – thanks for stopping by!
Before today, I had no idea that Tart tampers existed. Now I know, I must have one in my life, it would have solved some past conundrums when a recipe needs very short pastry
I too only learned about them recently! They’re fairly inexpensive, and for the amount of hassle they can save you, certainly worth having around 🙂
Oh man, we think alike, making raspberry/citrusy things for Valentine’s Day! (Who needs chocolate!? 🙂 )
I know, what a coincidence, huh? I thought that was amusing when I first saw your post (so beautiful, by the way!). I do love chocolate (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t), but I think it overshadows other types of desserts far too much.
I just adore desserts with raspberries! Gorgeous!