Kim-Joy’s recipe for lemon curd emoji tarts

Lemon curd tarts are wonderful things, with their crisp pastry paired with silky smooth and sweet-but-sharp lemon curd. The emoji decorations give these a modern twist. Food is tied in with our emotions, so why not make this literal?

Makes: 12

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
155g salted butter, at room temperature
40g caster sugar
3 tbsp beaten egg

For the curd:
Zest of 4 large lemons
Juice of 4 large lemons (about 180g)
150g salted butter, chopped
2 eggs (whole)
2 egg yolks
250g caster sugar

Royal icing:
100g icing sugar
20g egg white
Red and black food dye

First make the pastry. Put the flour in a mixing bowl, then chop and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Don’t overwork. Stir in the sugar. Add 2 tbsp of egg and use a fork to gradually combine this with the rest of the mixture (add more egg if the mixture seems too dry). Use your hands to form the pastry into a ball.

Roll out to about 3mm/⅛in thick on a generously floured surface.

Grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Stamp out large circles from the pastry, and use to line each hole. Use a fork to prick the base of each three times. Place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to chill. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/400F/gas mark 6.

Line each pastry hole with a paper muffin case (or baking paper), and fill with baking beads/lentils/rice. Blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove the paper and beads, and bake for a further 5-8 minutes. Leave to cool and then remove from the tins – the pastry cases should be golden, crisp and hold their shape.

Next, make the lemon curd. Put the lemon zest and juice in a pan and add the butter. Heat on low until the butter has melted. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and the sugar. Pour about one sixth of the hot lemon/butter mix on to the egg yolk mix, whisking continuously. Then pour all of this back into the pan. On a medium heat, continue whisking until the mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. It will solidify much more once chilled.

Spoon the curd into each pastry shell. Place in the fridge and leave to set.

Meanwhile, whisk together the icing sugar and egg white to make the icing. Divide among three bowls and add food dyes to colour two of them, then transfer to piping bags. Pipe emojis on to the tarts once they are chilled and firm.