After another successful holiday dessert party I am happy to share this year's dessert party champion. The competition gets tighter each year, but these delicious mini tarts with pretty seasonal fruits wowed our guests!
It is an interesting competition that goes down. The voting has to do with much more than just taste. Knowing your audience as well as standing out amongst all the desserts are huge factors in getting votes. There are so many things to try that rarely does anyone try every single dessert. Coming up with something unique and bite size has proven to work in the winner's favor.
So this year's winning dessert comes from my childhood best friend (whose mom happened to win the year before!). These mini tarts are cute and easy to grab and are surprisingly refreshing with the fresh fruit.
Pomegranate Persimmon Mini Tarts
Adapted from Apt. 2B Baking Company
Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons cold, cubed butter
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons water
1. Using a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the yolk and pulse, then slowly stream in the water and pulse until the mixture begins to clump a bit.
2. Lightly butter cupcake pan and gently press the crumbly dough into the pan. Make sure to evenly coat the bottom and the sides while being careful to not compact the dough too much. You may have a bit of extra dough, save it just in case you have to repair any cracks later on. Freeze the tart shells for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat your oven to 375º and bake the tart shells until it is lightly golden. Bake until the dough is cooked (no longer having that doughy/glossy look) - I hate an overcooked crust and I knew it would have to bake longer with the filling. Start checking the crust at 5 minutes. After baked, repair any cracks that may have formed with your leftover dough. While the shell is baking, prepare the filling.
Filling:
Make sure to mix ingredients in order listed.
3 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups labneh (kefir cheese)
In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar, salt and vanilla. Then, whisk in the cheese.
To Bake:
Turn the oven down to 300º
Pour the filling mixture into the warm tart shell and return to the oven to bake until the filling is set, but jiggles slightly in the center, about 10-15 minutes. Take care not to over bake the filling, as it will ruin the smooth texture of the filling.
To Garnish:
Cool the tart completely then top with 4 peeled (a y shaped peeler is great for this task) and sliced fuyu persimmons (the short, chubby ones) and the arils from one pomegranate (about a cup's worth).
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