Lemon Meringue Tarts

Ingredients:

For the Tart Shells:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk (reserve the white for meringue topping)
1/4 tsp almond extract

For the Filling:
2 egg yolks (reserve the whites for meringue topping)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
juice and grated zest of 2 large lemons

For the Meringue Topping:
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
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To make the tart shells:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and almond extract. Gradually add in flour and salt. Once it's all combined pinch off a small piece and roll into a ball, press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a silicone muffin tin. You want the dough to be thin because it puffs as it cooks. Repeat with remaining dough. (Alternately you can press the dough into a pie pan and use as crust for a lemon meringue pie)

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Let cool for only 2-3 minutes before carefully removing shells from pans. This will prevent them from crisping too much and breaking as you remove them. If this does happen, just pop the pans back in the oven for a couple of minutes to soften the shells a bit. Let cool completely before filling. The shells may be stored in a tightly covered container in the freezer for up to 1 month.

To make the filling:
Fill the bottom of a double boiler with 1 to 2 inches of water and bring to a rolling boil. Place the whole eggs and yolks in the top of the double boiler off the heat. Whisk until the whites and yolks are thoroughly mixed. Place the top of the double boiler back in place over medium-low heat. Stir constantly, watching the eggs carefully so that they don't start to curdle. Add the butter, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cook over gently boiling water, stirring often with a wooden spoon until the mixture is the consistency of mayonnaise. This takes 10 minutes or so and you do need to let it sit for a minute or two without stirring or else it won't thicken. You'll see it thicken around the edges of the double boiler. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Pour the filling into a glass bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap across the the surface of the top (so that a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

To make the meringue topping:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to medium and add the sugar and vanilla. Mix until egg whites are glossy, about 1 minute.

To assemble: Place the tart shells on a baking sheet, fill the tart shells with lemon filling, spoon a heaping spoonful of meringue on top of each one. Bake for 4-5 minutes until slightly browned.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

Ingredients:

Cupcakes-
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 pkg. instant coconut pudding mix (3.4oz)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups coconut, divided
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Frosting-
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp whipping cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
yellow gel food coloring (optional)
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Evenly spread coconut on a cookie sheet and toast it under the broiler until lightly browned (approximately 3-5 min). Stir it around about halfway through to get it evenly toasted.

For the cake- In an electric mixer, combine cake mix, pudding mix, coconut milk, egg whites, oil, coconut extract, and 1 1/4 cups toasted coconut until well blended. Divide evenly amongst 24 cupcake liners. Bake for 16-19 minutes (or until internal temp. reaches 210 degrees)

For the frosting- Beat butter until smooth. Gradually add 3 cups powdered sugar. Beat until no lumps remain. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Thoroughly mix again. Add remaining 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and whipping cream until you reach your desired consistency, then add in food coloring if you're using it. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with remaining toasted coconut.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Shortbread Crust:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 TBSP)
1 pint of fresh blueberries

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Preheat oven to 350

Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil, lightly grease foil. Mix butter, flour and powdered sugar together until crumbly. Press in the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool.

Reduce oven to 325

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add in the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Fold in the blueberries gently with a spatula until evenly incorporated. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and gently spread into an even layer. Bake for 35 minutes or until just set and the center no longer jiggles when the pan is tapped. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving.

I made these for the first time yesterday and, OH MY GOODNESS, they're DELICIOUS! I was looking for a recipe to use up a lemon and some blueberries I had and this was a definite winner. The original recipe (found here on Annie's Eats) called for a graham cracker crust but when I went to make it I discovered that I had no graham crackers and no graham cracker crumbs in the house. That's when I went to plan B and substituted a shortbread crust. It was so good I'll never make these any other way. I'm planning on making them again twice this week, for 2 different potlucks.

No Bake Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake Filling:
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2/3 cup whipping cream

Raspberry Mousse:
3 TBS cold water
1 cup raspberry puree
3 TBS sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup whipping cream, soft peaks

Raspberry Gelee:
3 TBS cold water
1 1/2 cups raspberry puree
6 TBS sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
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I adapted this recipe from the one I found on the Barbara Bakes Blog
Her's looked so unbelievably delicious I just had to give it a try! I'm always up for a delicious new cheesecake recipe and the fact that this was a no bake recipe, which required no eggs, was a double bonus for me. I have a nephew with an egg allergy and the poor kid always gets left out when we have cheesecake. I've been looking for a recipe that he can eat for quite some time now. The crust in the original recipe looked a bit more difficult and time consuming than I was willing to do, and it called for eggs, so I substituted a coconut crust and it was really good! I think an Oreo crust or a Nilla Wafer crust would also work well with this recipe.

Lemon cheesecake filling:
Put the lemon juice in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 20 seconds. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the whipping cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture. Beat until the mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes.
Pour the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate the cheesecake until set, about 1 hour.

Raspberry Mousse:
Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 20 seconds. Add the gelatin to the raspberry puree.
Fold the whipped cream into the puree. Pour the mousse on top of the cheesecake layer and let it set in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Raspberry Gelee:
Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 20 seconds. Add the gelatin to the raspberry puree. Pour the gelee on top of the raspberry mousse and let it set several hours in the refrigerator before serving. If you're feeling really fancy you can melt some white chocolate and drizzle it on top once the gelee is set.

I think this dessert turned out really well. If I was really craving cheesecake it would not satisfy my desire but I think it's the perfect summertime dessert. It's very light and delicious!