Gourmet Lemon Strawberry Shortcake Cups Recipe (with Sweet Ricotta and Minted Lemon Curd)

 Have a perfect burst of flavorful summer bliss with these Lemon Strawberry Shortcake Cups! They are refreshing and beautiful!

I think I already mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but why not shout it to the rooftops again: I LOVE STRAWBERRIES! This is seriously my favorite time of year. I buy strawberries by the pound it seems and they still disappear so fast! Stay on the look out this month for more strawberry recipes (and hey, we’ll throw in some other berries as well ‘cuz we’re just all about some berry love around here).

Tammy and I were super excited to hear the announcement from the Culinary Content Network that they were teaming up with Driscoll’s to do a Strawberry Shortcake Contest. Seriously, my mouth has been drooling ever since. And my brain has been concocting a lot of crazy ideas on the classic dessert. Honestly, I started thinking of so many different variations, that I had to reel myself back in for awhile and regroup.

I love a good classic strawberry shortcake, so I didn’t want to go completely off of the radar. But I thought it would be fun to get a little creative and throw in some complimentary flavors to give it a little zing and unique twist. I’ve kind of been crushing on lemon a lot lately, so that seemed like a natural lead in. Tammy had a beautiful lemony biscuit cookie crust for this cheesecake, and it kept calling my name. However, I wanted to make it a little more biscuity and a little less sweet. With a few simple alterations, it was there.

And I’ve also been obsessed with lemon curd. Absolutely obsessed, shall I say. Ever since I got this amazing liege waffle with lemon curd and raspberries from Saturday’s Waffles, my favorite little waffle stand, I just want to eat lemon curd all day long. But, I still wanted to go a little further to tease the tastebuds. Minted curd, possibly? Mmmmm….yes.

Lastly, I’ve really been liking the idea of portable desserts lately. With all of the summer barbecues coming on in full force and the huge spread of food that always seems to be there (along with the messiness factor of it all), it’s nice to have something that’s small, contained, and convenient. So I decided to go shortcake cup-style and then fill it with all of the good stuff. Easy to devour without a huge mess. Also, it looks pretty!

I tried a lot of different tins for the shortcake cups. I ended up liking my small brioche molds the best. They’re just flowery and summery and hold their shape well. But you can definitely go muffin tin, or I even did a few in the mini-muffin tin just for kicks (bite-sized wonders, I tell ya)! Just a quick note though – this dough tends to shrink in during baking, and especially more in the muffin tins since there is no texture on the sidewall to hold them up. I don’t mind it – in fact, I think the ridged finish gives them a little bit of personality.

Since I was having so much fun up to this point, I thought, well, why not one more change up? And instead of just plain ole’ whipped cream (which I really do sincerely love), I went with sweetened ricotta. Can I say, I really am in love with this recipe! It’s fresh, it’s not overbearingly sweet, and it has subtle flavors that sneak through, but nothing that is overpowering.

One important point that we are constantly reaching for on FoodApparel.com is to present a recipe that you can easily alter to fit your tastes. You might like things a little more simple and classic. You might not have ricotta on hand, or just don’t particularly like that texture. You might have a love crush on mint, or could care less. Take this baby and make it your own!

Here are a few of our ideas and variations below (specifics are in the actual recipe and notes):

Going Gourmet: Fill the shortcake cups with sweetened ricotta (sweetened with sugar/vanilla or honey) and layer with a minted lemon curd (or classic lemon curd). Of course, top it off with a berry fan and a mint garnishment, or try your hand at a strawberry rose (I’m not so good at these yet!)

My first attempts at a strawberry rose.

Riding Smooth: Instead of ricotta (listed above), use sweetened mascarpone (sweetened with sugar/vanilla or honey). Beat generously to create a light, airy, and silky smooth texture for your bottom layer!

Feelin’ Hybrid: Whip some heavy cream to stiff peaks. Then fold in lemon curd to create a lemon curd whipped cream to fill the shortcake cup. And of course, don’t forget the berries!

Keep it Classic:  Fill the cup with your straight up classic whipped cream lightly sweetened with confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and pile on the berries!

Well, this has been a fun culinary experiment with tasty results! Happy National Strawberry Shortcake Day on June 14!

Print

Lemon Strawberry Shortcake Cups (with Sweet Ricotta and Minted Lemon Curd)

Course Dessert

Cuisine Gourmet

Servings 12 -16 muffin-sized shortcake cups

Author Christina Lakey

Ingredients

For the Lemon Shortcake Cup:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 small lemons
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter use a cheese grater, cubed or grated
• 1 egg yolk

For the Sweet Ricotta Filling:

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Minted Lemon Curd:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 20 leaves mint about 2 tablespoons, packed

For Topping/Garnishment:

• Strawberries
• leaves Mint

Instructions

For the Lemon Shortcake Cup:

1. Mix together flour sugar, and zest.
2. Add butter and, using hands or a pastry blender, toss and blend until mixture forms about pea-sized clumps.
3. Add yolk, and mix until the dough forms a ball.
4. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
5. At cook time, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Generously flour a flat surface.
7. Divide dough into two (easier to work with). Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch. Cut out your desired size to fill tins. (For a regular sized muffin tin, you want about 4 inches diameter).
8. Press each disk into lightly sprayed tin.
9. Cook for 10-13 minutes, or until shells are set and starting to turn golden brown.

For the Sweet Ricotta Filling:

1. In a bowl, mix together ricotta with sugar and vanilla until well blended. Place in refrigerator until time to assemble.

For the Minted Lemon Curd:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with a mixer for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and the yolk, and beat slowly for one minute.
3. Mix in the lemon juice.
4. Pour mixture into medium saucepan, and start to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until it starts to look smooth.
5. Meanwhile, while mixture is starting to smooth out, get mint leaves, and tear them into slightly smaller pieces and squeeze so that they are slightly bruised. Place in small bowl.
6. Get a couple tablespoons of the smooth lemon mixture and add to the mint leaves.
7. Stir, to pick up any oils left in the bowl, and then pour everything back into the curd mixture, including the leaves.
8. Increase the heat to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL.
9. The curd can be done anywhere from 160 degrees F to 170 degrees F (with the higher being a little thicker and more set). It will leave a path on the back of a spoon and it will set more as it cools.
10. Remove the curd from the heat. While still warm, get a fine mesh strainer and strain out the mint leaves, transferring the curd to a bowl. Set aside to cool.
11. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top surface and place in the refrigerator to prevent curd from getting a skin (although I've never had a problem with this).
12. You may make this in advance - it will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

Assembly:

1. Place a heaping tablespoon of sweetened ricotta filling in each of your cooled lemon shortcake cups.
2. Top with a layer of curd. (If curd is thick because it's been chilled, you can reheat it just slightly in the microwave for about 15 seconds at about 20% power level so that it will be easier to spread).
3. Refrigerate until time to serve.
4. Right before serving, garnish with sliced/diced/decorated strawberries and mint leaves.

Recipe Notes

Change It Up:
Instead of sweetened ricotta, substitute and equal amount of mascarpone. Use powdered sugar in place of granulated. Whip the mascarpone with a beater to make it light and fluffy and to combine your sweetener well.
For either the ricotta or mascarpone, use 3 tablespoons honey in place of the sugar and vanilla for a little different taste.
Make a thick lemon curd whipped cream by beating 2 cups whipping cream and then folding in 1 cup lemon curd in a few additions.
Dress it Down:
Don't want minted lemon curd? Easily eliminate the mint for a classic taste.
Keep things really simple by simply using 2 cups cream, whipped to stiff peaks. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 teaspoons vanilla for some flavor, and load your shortcake cups with this and the strawberries on top!

*We received coupons from Driscoll’s for this post. 

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Christina | Food Apparel

I'm Christina and I'm a self-proclaimed foodie and chocoholic! I am a real estate broker by trade. I have a wonderful husband, 3 girls 4 and under (crazy!!!) and a hyper dog. Want to know my quirks? Go here for a little Q&A.

Latest posts by Christina | Food Apparel (see all)

• HOW TO DRESS UP YOUR BLACK BEANS: 5 WAYS - July 24, 2017
• Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage and Sausage Recipe - November 22, 2016
• Chewy Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - November 12, 2015