Learn how to make delightful matcha tarts filled with tangy passion fruit curd in this easy-to-follow recipe. The tart shells are made from a sweet matcha cookie dough that is blind-baked before being filled with a homemade passion fruit curd made on the stove and prepared in advance.
I picked up frozen passion fruit purée at a small neighbourhood store run by a friendly couple from Côte d’Ivoire. I was excited to use it for something other than juice: a curd thickened with egg yolks and butter. In French baking, curd is often described as “crème de citron” for lemon curd, but the concept is the same for passion fruit: a glossy, spreadable filling perfect for tarts.
Fruit curds like this one work beautifully spread on toast, dolloped on scones, or used as a filling for cakes and cookies. For this recipe, the vibrant passion fruit curd is paired with green matcha tart shells to create a dessert that balances tartness, sweetness and the vegetal notes of matcha.
📖 Recipe
Matcha Tart with Passion Fruit Curd
Equipment
- Mini tart pans
- Mixer with paddle attachment (or stand mixer)
- Rolling pin
Ingredients
Passion fruit curd
- 125 mL passion fruit purée
- 60 mL fresh lemon juice
- 200 grams granulated sugar
- 8 large egg yolks
- 150 grams unsalted butter
For the matcha tart dough
- 86 grams unsalted butter softened
- 63 grams icing sugar
- 33 grams ground almonds
- 8 grams matcha green tea powder
- 1 large egg yolk
- 156 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch fine kosher salt
- 22.5 mL whole milk (3.25% fat)
Garnish
- 2 passion fruit for decorating (or use fresh raspberries)
Instructions
Passion fruit curd
- In a medium saucepan, combine the passion fruit purée, lemon juice, and half the sugar.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in a large bowl until the mixture lightens in color. Keep the bowl near the stove.
- Have the butter cubed and a fine mesh strainer set over a large bowl ready. Keep heatproof spatulas nearby.
- Heat the juice mixture over medium-high until nearly boiling. Pour a small amount over the yolks while whisking vigorously to temper them. Once combined, return the mixture to the saucepan.
- Cook the curd over medium-high, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, continue whisking and boil for 1.5 minutes to fully thicken. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter a little at a time until incorporated. Strain the curd through the fine mesh into a bowl, pressing through any remaining curd with a spatula.
- Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the curd, cover the bowl, and chill overnight.
Matcha tart shells
- In a mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the butter, icing sugar, ground almonds, and matcha until smooth. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg yolk and mix until combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix on low until just combined.
- Sprinkle the milk over the crumbly mixture and mix until the dough comes together into a cohesive green mass.
- Turn the dough onto a work surface, press it into a uniform mass, and divide into five equal pieces (~75 g each). Flatten each into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
- Roll one disk at a time to a circle about 1.5 inches larger than the tart pan. Gently fit the dough into the pan without stretching. Chill the tart shells for at least 30 minutes (an hour if possible).
- Place shells on a baking sheet, dock the dough, and bake on the middle rack for about 20 minutes or until edges are golden. Let the baking sheet rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the tarts. Cool completely before filling.
Assembly
- Fill cooled tart shells with chilled passion fruit curd. Top with fresh passion fruit pulp or raspberries for garnish.
- Chill the finished tarts until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.