Mar 14

Mar 14 Creamy Lime Tart

Happy Pi Day!

I get so excited when this time of year comes around. For all the freshly baked pies dotting countertops and cooling racks, of course, but it’s so much more than that. For me, Pi day is the unofficial arrival of spring. OK, maybe just the promise of spring. You may think I’m crazy as another nor-easter is approaching, daylight savings has plunged us back into darkness for an extra hour, and there’s not a flower in sight, but it’s true!

Follow my train of thought... in just a few days, we will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. No matter how cold it is outside, friends and family will gathered together in their gaudiest and brightest green attire, and raise a glass! I think we are subconsciously clinking our pints to the end of winter, a fresh beginning and finally seeing each other out and about again; especially after feeling like hermits during the long winter months.

We may only be looking at the green on our clothing, and the shamrocks on tables, but next week is the actual first day of Spring! As a good friend has told me time and again, “what you think about, comes about.” So I am willing the landscape to change from mud and snow to bud and bloom with everything I do over the next week! Eat green, wear green, bake green. I’m bringing small plants and flowering branches into the house, ordering my seeds to start growing indoors, planning out the vegetable beds and making lots of yummy salads and treats!

Sifting confectioners’ sugar over the top not only makes it look so pretty, but it nicely balances the tartness from the citrus. Garnish with a few thin lime slices, cut & serve. Get ready for the high praise!

I’ve decided to kick it off with... PIE! My Meyer Lemon Tart was such a hit among my family and coworkers that I made it again, but opting for limes instead of lemons. It was just as well-received. Cool and creamy but with a bit more pucker! Once baked, the filling took on a pale chartreuse color, similar to a key lime pie, but with bright green zest sprinkled throughout. I prepared it all in my food processor, making it one of the easiest desserts to whip up!

Crust Ingredients:

½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1½ cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Filling Ingredients:

4 large eggs, beaten lightly
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons grated zest (from 2 large limes)
⅔ cup fresh juice from 4 to 5 limes, strained
⅓ cup milk (whole preferably)
⅓ cup butter, melted & cooled slightly
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

Crust Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the flour. Add the butter and beat on low speed just until a smooth dough forms.

Press the dough evenly into a 9" or 10" nonstick tart pan and allow it to come up the sides of the pan. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake the crust until it is a deep golden brown, about 25-35 minutes.

Filling Directions:

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor and blend together the eggs, sugar, and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in the lime zest, juice, milk, butter and salt to blend well.

Slowly pour onto the warm crust. Bake until the filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes.

It's even better if you can refrigerate it overnight! Just be sure to lightly cover it with plastic, taking care not to let the plastic film touch the top of the baked filling. (It could stick to it, forming a seal and pulling off some of the desert when the plastic is removed.)