Turn Frozen Store-Bought Puff Pastry Into A Classic Lemon Curd Tart With Just 3 Extra Ingredients

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If you have a few sheets of puff pastry in your freezer, you're only a few minutes away from a fresh dessert that can approximate almost anything at the bakery without even having to step outside. The grocery marvel compresses what would have otherwise amounted to hours in the kitchen and hundreds of dough folds into one tidy package. Even pros like Ina Garten keep some store-bought puff pastry around the house. And you can top it with additional ready-made items to keep it super simple (not to mention fast), or whip further confections up from scratch for an even more bespoke preparation.

Lemon curd tarts, for example, can fall anywhere from the effortless end to the middle mark of that convenience spectrum. A good coating of an egg wash made with a few drops from the tap will give your puff pastry a gleaming sheen once it comes out of the oven. And, after it's cooled, little more than a layer of jarred lemon curd, and a show stopping sprinkle of something extra special like BeePoint edible gold flakes or culinary flowers give it a polished finish in seconds. You can also make the easiest lemon curd of your life in the microwave, or take your time over the stove.

You can more or less repeat the same steps you'd follow for lemon curd tarts for any other flavor combination. Once they're glossed and baked (there are also vegan egg wash alternatives, should you be keeping things plant-based), the pastry is a vehicle for all manner of enhancements, as well as those darling little garnishes that add a lot for little labor.

There are plenty more curds where lemon came from, and lime or grapefruit would also be great in this application. Curd-adjacent pistachio cream is also marvelous in this case, and it looks pretty and more complete with more crushed nuts on top. Something a little different like baked frozen puff pastry, a seeded jam or compote, and a powdered sugar glaze creates a Danish-inspired tart that's also appropriate for a sweet breakfast. And, of course, chocolate in all of its sundry forms, whether blended into Nutella, or melted and combined with berries, is a reliably crowd-pleasing way to use store-bought puff pastry.