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PASTRY:
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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Sift the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt into a large, chilled mixing bowl, and add the chilled butter and lard.
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2. With your fingertips rub the flour and fat together until they look like flakes of coarse meal. Add the lightly beaten egg and toss together until the dough can be gathered into a compact ball. Wrap in wax paper and chill the dough for at least an hour before using.
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3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. With a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, cut the dough into 3½-inch rounds.
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4. Gather the scraps into a ball reroll and cut into similar rounds. Fit them into ungreased individual tart tins about 2½ inches in diameter and ½ inch deep, and press them gently against the bottom and sides of the tins to form deep shells.
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5. Place the tins on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes, or until the pastry is a delicate gold. Let the shells cool in their tins while you make the filling.
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FILLING:
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1. Reduce the oven heat to 350°F. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, pot cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg yolks, cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt.
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2. To make the filling by hand, cream the cream cheese, pot cheese and sugar together by mashing and beating them against the sides of the bowl with a large spoon until fluffy. Then add the egg yolks, cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt and continue to beat until smooth.
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3. Spoon the cheese mixture into the tart shells, dividing it evenly among them and filling the shells to within ¼ inch of their tops.
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4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the filling is set and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the tarts to room temperature, then carefully slip them out of the tins and serve.
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NOTE:
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If you do not have tart tins, bake the tarts in a muffin tin whose cups measure 2½ inches in diameter across the bottom. The pastry rounds will not come completely to the top of the cups, but this will in no way affect the final result.
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