Lime tarts

I was looking around the cookbook section at chapters a few weeks ago and found this lovely little book inside a beautiful box that looked like a chocolate or high end pastry box. Sure enough it was Laduree’s book Sucre featuring Laduree recipes for its world renowned pastries and sweets. It was the only copy and of course I grabbed it. It started me on a dessert making mania that hasn’t stopped yet. No one is complaining here.

One of the recipe I tried is this lovely Tartlettes Citron Vert which was easy to make and so fresh and tangy, let alone how pretty it looked. I thought I’d share it with you here. I adapted the original recipe to work for me in my kitchen.

The pastry is light and crisp and has to be baked blind, meaning without the filling. It’s not the easiest thing to do but if you follow the directions it should work.

To keep the sides of the tartlets perfectly straight I cut the pastry into rounds that fit the bottom of the tart ring and cut a strip of pastry to line the sides. This system makes straight sided pastry shells that you may see in a pastry shop (I am still in the practicing phase). However, you can press a circle of dough into your tart rings if that’s easier for you.

I made and served them in a few different ways, with Italian meringue swirled on top, with coconut cream under the lime cream (the original recipe) and with coconut flakes on top. I am offering the basic recipe here so use your imagination to embellish.

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Ingredients:

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Paté Brisée

2 cups cake flour

9 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces

Pinch of salt

4 tablespoons cold water

2 egg yolks

Directions:

Sift the flour into a large bowl.

Add cold butter and salt and work the mixture until it clusters into pea size crumb.

Add water and yolks and mix just until pastry comes together. Do not over mix.

Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Once chilled roll the pastry out to 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut 8 rounds of 3″ diameter or the diameter of the tart ring you are using.

Cut strips in the size of the circumference of the tart ring.

To assemble place the strips inside the tart rings, then add the circles and press them together.

Refrigerate again until cold.

To bake blind heat the oven to 375ºF.

Remove the tarts from the fridge and poke with the tines of a fork on the bottom and sides.

Line with parchment paper and fill with baking weights (beans, rice, small florist rocks, pie weights etc) and

Bake the shells for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and finish baking until golden, another 5 min or so.

Remove and let cool.

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Lime Cream filling

Zest from 1 lime

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 eggs

1/2 cup lime juice

1 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Combine sugar, lime zest and cornstarch in a small pot.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing to blend.

Add the lime juice and mix.

Place the pot over medium heat and cook until thickens, stirring with a spatula and scraping from the bottom, Don’t let it burn.

remove from heat and let cool.

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Assembling:

Fill the tart shells with the lime cream and garnish with berries.

Serve chilled.

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