Light but luxurious lemony tarts are an ideal dessert for Mother’s Day brunches and other special-occasion menus for spring. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day remains the most popular holiday of the year for dining out. With Grassland’s Wüthrich (pronounced we-trek) 83% European Style Butter, it’s easy to make a great impression on Mother’s Day customers with elegant classic desserts. Customers crave the rich taste of their favorites, but they also appreciate satisfyingly sweet smaller portions. Lemon Meringue Tarts from Master Pastry Chef Peter Yuen of La Patisserie P Bakery in Chicago set new standards for this traditional springtime treat.

Foodservice operators on the lookout for crowd-pleasing mini desserts with big flavor need to look no further than Lemon Meringue Tarts in which butter co-stars with lemon. Yuen’s butter tart dough features butter, almond meal, powdered sugar, whole eggs, vanilla extract, and bread flour. Lemon curd filling combines sugar, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and pure, natural Wüthrich 83% European Style Butter. The tarts are topped with Italian meringue made with water, sugar, and egg white.

Grassland’s versatile Wüthrich 83% European Style Butter makes an ideal staple ingredient for the kitchen. This butter offers unparalleled flavor, texture, and cooking performance. It can go directly from refrigerator to recipe because it bends at 40°F and does not need softening. Not only does its 83% fat content give extra body to baked goods, chefs and bakers have found that they can use nearly 25 percent less product and achieve the same results.

Grassland produces an array of high-quality butter products for dining and baking operations, and has garnered more than two dozen awards for butter, winning top honors at state, national, and world competitions.

Discover the Wüthrich 83% European Style Butter difference for yourself. On its website, www.grassland.com, Grassland offers Master Pastry Chef Peter Yuen’s recipe for Lemon Meringue Tarts from La Patisserie P Bakery in Chicago.

Grassland also offers a short training video with additional ways that foodservice operators can enrich their menus with Wüthrich 83% European Style Butter.

Recipe: Lemon Meringue Tart, Master Pastry Chef Peter Yuen, La Patisserie P Bakery, Chicago

Ingredients:

  • Butter Tart Dough                                                                     
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar 
  • 3 ¼ cups almond meal
  • 36 ounces Wüthrich 83% European-Style Butter  
  • 2 cups whole eggs                                                                     
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract                        
  • 16 cups bread flour                         
  • Lemon Curd
  • 3 ½ cups sugar                                 
  • 1 ¾ cups egg yolks                            
  • 1 ½ cups lemon juice                         
  • 6 teaspoons lemon zest                           
  • 14 ounces Wüthrich 83% European-Style Butter 
  • Italian Meringue
  • 1 ¼ cups water                        
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar                      
  • 1 cup egg whites              

Directions:

  • For tart dough: sift powder sugar and almond meal into large mixing bowl. At low speed using a pastry hook with mixer, blend powder sugar, butter, and almond meal until mixed. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla extract. Sift bread flour; add to mixture to form dough. Cover with clear plastic wrap and refrigerate until using.
  • For lemon curd: in a microwavable container add all ingredients, except butter. Mix well all ingredients using an immersion blender; microwave mixture until thickens; stir occasionally. It should have the consistency of ketchup. Cool the mixture to 89°F add in butter with immersion blender. Strain; let cool before use.
  • For Italian Meringue: in a large sauce pan, add water and sugar; place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir to prevent sugar crystallizing on sides of pan. In a mixing bowl whip egg whites on medium speed using an electric mixer. When syrup reaches 246°F, pour over egg whites and whip slowly using mixer. The finished meringue should have stiff glossy peaks; use immediately.
  • Assembly: Grease 24, 2-inch tartlet pans, place on sheet pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the chilled tart dough into 1/8-inch thickness and cut out twenty-four 2¼-in round using a cookie cutter. Line the tart pans with the dough rounds. Place on baking sheet and set in oven; bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Take out and let tarts cool.
  • Using a spatula, spoon the lemon curd into the baked tart shells; smooth out the curd. Mound the meringue on top of curd; place tart into oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from molds. Serve immediately.
  • Yield: 24 servings
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