Gimme Some Heat and Sweetness! Serrano Honey Blueberry Tartlets with Lemon Custard Are Your Tastebud’s New Favorite Dessert.

Tart blueberries find an extra snap in your mouth with Olive This! brand specialty vinegar. Nestled inside the light and pleasing crunch of puff pastry, I added the cool taste of lemon custard to bring your mouth full circle in taste and celebration.

If there’s anything to be said for a dessert, it is the canvas for creativity. For too long we have enforced the rule that adding anything but sugar to a dessert will take away from its sacredness. Let’s smash that rule (One of my favorite pastimes!) and learn why.

I must tell you that around the world, desserts are imagined differently than what we see through our Betty Crocker American cultural lens. Sorry Betty. In India for example a popular dessert is called a Kulfi which includes saffron and turmeric in the ingredient list. Melomakarona cookies from Cyprus feature olive oil and cognac. Tavuk göğsü is a Turkish chicken pudding. They basically pound the chicken breast and mince them as fine as possible before combining rice flour, milk and sugar altogether. The end result resembles milk pudding and it is usually topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon powder.

As I’ve mentioned before, acids like vinegar and honey (yes, honey is an acid) have a place on your dish no matter the course. And they bring out the flavor of foods in a beautiful way. Our mouths don’t have on/off buttons for flavors. EVERYTHING you put in your mouth will be read by the receptors as salty, sweet, bitter, or sour. And a combination of these. In fact, the tip of the tongue is for BOTH sweet and sour. That anatomy tells us we were clearly designed to enjoy these sensations together!

One of my favorite ways to incorporate all these acidic flavors is with fruit. By simmering blueberries with Olive This! Serrano Honey Specialty Vinegar and ladling it into the light, crispy vessel of a puff pastry cup we have elegance instantly. And to offset the sweetness I combined it with a cool and creamy lemon custard.
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I believe when it comes to desserts, you should give your mouth something to look forward to, something to celebrate, and something which keeps it interesting. Try this today!

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RECIPE: Serrano Honey Blueberry Tartlets
​with Lemon Custard and Chocolate Drizzle

Made with Olive This! Serrano Honey Specialty Vinegar
Unceremoniously delicious and so easy.
​The spicy bite of the hot serrano honey makes an interesting compliment to the sweetness of the blueberry mixture. An elegant and elevated fruit dessert for your next soirée!

Serves 6 | Click here to download printable PDF

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INGREDIENTS:

• Blueberry mixture:
  • 1 pint blueberries, washed, stems removed
  • 3 T Olive This! Serrano Honey Special Vinegar
  • 2 T brandy
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ C granulated sugar
• Puff Pastry:
  • Two thirds of 1 whole sheet of puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm brand)
• Lemon Custard:
  • 7 ounces Greek yogurt
  • 3 T lemon curd
  • 2 T granulated sugar
•  
• Serve with a drizzle of your favorite chocolate sauce or fudge sauce. Can also sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
• Mint and a dallop of fresh whipped cream to garnish.

 
 
METHOD:
Combine blueberries, honey, brandy, sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat so it’s still bubbling but not too violently. Let cook, stirring often, for about 8-9 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a heat-safe glass dish and set aside. Let cool before serving. It will thicken slightly.
 
In another bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon curd, and sugar. Mix well with a whisk, and cover and refrigerate for at least an hour for all the sugar granules to completely dissolve.
 
Using a rolling pin, roll out the thawed pastry square to about 11” by 11”. Then cut into 6 squares. Roll out each square to about twice the size or about 5” by 5”. Make sure the pastry is nice and thin. Place each of the squares inside the opening of a regular sized muffin tin that has been slightly buttered inside. Tuck the dough in carefully and flute the edges a bit so it looks like a flower. Place in freezer for about 4 minutes to completely chill the dough right before you pop it in the hot oven. It will help them puff better! Bake in a pre-heated 400° F oven for about 15 minutes or until very brown. Remove them from oven and immediate create a more pronounced indent in the center by using the butt of the handle of an ice cream scoop. (It was just the right size!) Don’t push too hard, just create a well for placing the lemon custard and the blueberry mixture as the puff may have obliterated any indentation! Let cool for about 3 minutes. Then remove and place on a wire rack. Set aside until ready to assemble.
 
To plate, put about 3 T custard down first smearing it out. Place the puff pastry cup on the smear to secure it. Put another 2-3 T of custard in the cup. Then ladle the blueberry mixture on top and cascading down. Divide evenly among the 6 cups. Garnish as you wish.

©Photo and Recipes by Copyright, Camine Pappas, 2013 - 2022

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