Raspberry Curd Love Pastries

Raspberry Curd Love Pastries are a great simple dessert to share with someone special. Not too sweet and full of raspberry flavor!

A couple of weeks back I was chatting with one of my tennis gals, Leigh and we were discussing our businesses. Her company is Plum Creek Gourmet which produces yummy fruit and nut bar mixes and natural vanilla sugars. Her nut bar mixes are great because they are all natural and contain no preservatives. You just add a few ingredients from your pantry and bake them at home! Her products are a staple for me especially when full day of outdoor activities are planned. They are perfect for a sustained healthy energy snack.

Her newest product to her line are the natural vanilla sugars. Wow, she brought me samples and they are delicious. The jars even come with a full vanilla bean tucked inside! Anyway, the products are so new, she asked me to develop a recipe using the sugars. Since Valentine’s Day is coming up it was a no-brainer! We thought maybe a pie but we decided to go way out of the box and make something that isn’t on your everyday menu, so Raspberry Curd Love Pastries were developed. We put in the word “love” in it because that’s all you can think about when you eat this dessert. Silky smooth raspberry curd with the light lemon whipped cream and the crunchy puff pastry are all kind of like heaven in your mouth!

We decided that the vanilla sugar gives it so much flavor that we were able to cut down on the amount of sugar in the recipe and let the natural flavors of raspberries, lemon and vanilla shine through. One thing that is great about this raspberry curd is that it is tasty on just about anything. We did test batches as a “parfait” with tons of berries and whipped cream. Topped it on cookies and ice cream and even put it between slices of pound cake. However you choose to use the raspberry curd, give it a try. It’s such a nice alternative to your average dessert and heck it is Valentine’s Day… extra whipped cream included! LOL!

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Raspberry Curd Love Pastries

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Heather Blake

Serves: 2-4

Raspberry Curd Love Pastries are a great simple dessert to share with someone special. Not too sweet and full of raspberry flavor! See the notes for a substitution for the vanilla sugar.

Ingredients

[br][b]For the Raspberry Curd[/b][br]
1 stick salted butter
3/4 cup Plum Creek Gourmet Vanilla Sugar
1 pint raspberries
6 egg yolks
[br][b]For the Whipped Cream[/b][br]
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Plum Creek Gourmet Vanilla Sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest (optional)
[br][b]For the Puffed Pastry[/b][br]
1 sheet puff pastry
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3-4 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

For the raspberry curd. Melt the butter, sugar (and vanilla extract if using) in a medium sized sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the raspberries whisk constantly until broken down. Slowly add the egg yolks whisking continuously to avoid the eggs from scrambling. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken and the mixture begins to bubble. Strain raspberry curd into a medium sized bowl, pressing on the solids in the strainer. Cover the curd with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
To make the whipped cream. Whip the cream, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest (and vanilla if using) until peaks form. Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer. It should take 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
To make the puff pastry. Remove 1 pastry sheet from the package and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut into 9 pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle the remaining sugar evenly over the tops. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until the tops become golden brown. Set aside to cool.
To assemble the dessert. Cut the pastry in half. Put a dollop of the whipped cream on the bottom. Top with about 1/4 cup of the raspberry curd and more whipped cream. Place the other half of the puff pastry on top.
Serve with additional fresh raspberries or other berries of your choice.

Notes

If you don’t have Plum Creek Vanilla sugar on hand. Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the sugar in the curd and in the whipped cream.[br][br]The egg whites can be stored in a zip lock bag for later use. [br][br]There will be additional puff pastry left over to use for a later time or just double the curd recipe.

This is not a sponsored post and I did not get paid. Just helping a friend out promoting a great product!