A recipe for matcha tarts with passion fruit curd. This recipe would work great with lemon curd too! The tart dough is made with a tablespoon of matcha, which adds colour and flavour.
In a medium saucepan, combine the passion fruit purée, the lemon juice, and half the sugar.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar until the mixture has lightened in colour. Set aside by the stove.
Have the cubes of butter ready by the stove (away from heat) and also, place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl nearby. Have a couple heatproof spatulas at the ready.
Heat the juice mixture on medium–high until it comes to a boil almost. Pour the juice over the lightened yolks and whisk like mad to temper the eggs. When the egg-juice mixture is well mixed, transfer it back to a saucepan.
Heat the curd on medium–high until it comes to a boil, whisking constantly. When the mixture comes to a boil, set a time for 1.5 minutes and boil the mixture while whisking non-stop. Move the saucepan around over the burner to avoid scorching if your burner/pan have hot spots. At this point, the curd should be thick. Take the pan off the heat, and begin whisking in the butter, a little at a time. When the butter has disappeared and the curd is well mixed, pour it into the strainer set over a bowl. Use a spatula to get every last drop of curd out of the pan. Press the mixture through the sieve.
Cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the entire surface of the curd, then close the bowl with another piece of plastic wrap pulled across the top. Chill overnight.
Matcha tart shells
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, icing sugar, ground almond, and matcha. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the egg yolk and mix it in.
Add the flour and salt. Mix it into the dough on low.
Sprinkle the milk over the crumbly mixture in the mixer bowl, and mix until the crumbles become a cohesive green dough.
Dump the dough onto a work surface and press/gently work the dough into a uniform mass. Divide the dough into five pieces (~75 grams each). Flatten each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough so that it is larger than your tart pans (about 1.5 inches larger). Transfer the dough to the tart pan and work it into the mold. Be sure to not pull or stretch the dough but rather let it fall into place.
Chill the unbaked tart shells for another 30 minutes or more (if you have the time, an hour is better). Place the chilled tart shells on a baking sheet, dock the dough, and bake on the middle rack for about 20 minutes or so. No pie weights needed! Bake the tarts until the edges are golden brown.
Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then using a glass, unmold the tarts (check out my post about how to remove a tart from a tart pan for more info). Let cool completely before filling.
Assembly
Fill the tarts with passion fruit curd and top with fresh passion fruit pulp or fresh raspberries.