Lime Mint And Rum Tarts Recipes

FRESH LIME TART WITH MERINGUE LATTICE AND GLAZED BERRIES

Steps:

• For Crust:
• Combine 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter and cut in, using fingers or pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat 1 large egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in small bowl until blended. Pour over flour mixture. Stir with fork until mixture forms moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into pan; trim edges. Freeze until very firm, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line frozen crust with aluminum foil. Fill crust with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set on edges, about 12 minutes. Remove beans and foil from crust. Continue baking until crust is golden in center, about 14 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.)
• For Filling:
• Combine 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup dry white wine in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in 3 eggs, 2 large egg yolks and 1 tablespoon grated lime peel. Place 1 tablespoon cornstarch in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 3/4 cup fresh lime juice. Add to mixture in saucepan. Stir over medium-high until mixture comes to boil. Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Cool mixture completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat remaining egg into filling. Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling is set and begins to bubble around edge, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 6 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.)
• For Meringue:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine 1/4 cup water and vanilla bean in heavy small saucepan. Gently simmer until vanilla bean is tender, about 1 minute. Remove vanilla bean from water and split lengthwise. Scrape seeds from bean into water; return bean to water. Add 1/4 cup sugar to water and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until mixture is thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Remove vanilla bean from saucepan.
• Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat 3 large egg whites, in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat mixture until medium peaks form.
• Gradually beat boiling syrup into egg whites. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Using rubber spatula, transfer meringue to pastry bag fitted with large plain or star tip. Pipe meringue atop tart in diagonal lattice design, spacing lines of meringue about 2 inches apart. Bake until meringue is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead; refrigerate uncovered.)
• For Berry Topping:
• Combine 2 tablespoons crème de cassis, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel in small saucepan. Boil mixture until sugar dissolves and mixture is syrupy, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Cool slightly. Place berries in bowl. Pour crème de cassis mixture over. Toss to coat berries. Spoon coated berries decoratively among lattice openings. Garnish tart with mint leaves if desired.

LIME, MINT AND RUM TARTS

Steps:

• Make the pastry: Place flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, until mixture is the consistency of fine bread crumbs, then, with the machine on, slowly add vinegar and ice water. Process for a few seconds, until pastry starts to come together, then dump the dough onto a clean surface. (It will be very sandy.) Gather and pat the dough into a disc that is roughly 1 inch/3 centimeters thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.
• While the pastry chills, make the curd. First, make the lime syrup: Bring lime juice and granulated or superfine sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, swirling frequently, until sugar has melted, and then boil for another minute. Remove from heat, add lime zest, along with a generous 1/3 cup/10 grams mint leaves, and set aside for 10 minutes to infuse.
• While the syrup cools, make the herb paste: Pour 2 tablespoons rum into a spice grinder with the parsley and remaining scant 2/3 cup/15 grams of the mint. Pulse for about 10 seconds, until a paste forms, scraping down the sides of the work bowl and pulsing and/or shaking the machine again, if necessary. Set aside. (Alternately, you can whirl the herbs in a small food processor until chopped and then reduce the mixture to a paste in a mortar and pestle. Or, finely chop the herbs on a cutting board and, adding a small amount of rum at a time, work the mixture into a paste with the edge of a large knife.)
• Strain lime syrup into a large heatproof bowl; squeeze the leaves and zest to extract as much flavor as possible and then discard. In a separate large bowl, whisk together 2 whole eggs, 5 yolks and the cornstarch until no lumps remain, and then stir into the cooled lime syrup.
• Add scant 1 inch/2 centimeters water to a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer over high heat and reduce the heat to medium. Place the bowl of eggs and syrup over the pan of gently simmering water and whisk continuously for 6 to 8 minutes, or until you have a thick, mousselike curd. Add butter and stir for an additional minute, or just until butter has melted, then remove from heat and set the curd aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Stir reserved herb paste into the curd, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until completely cool.
• On a lightly floured work surface, tap the chilled pastry all over with a rolling pin to soften slightly before rolling out until 1/16 inch/1 to 2 millimeters thick, using additional flour sparingly to prevent the dough from sticking. (The dough should be about 1 foot/30 centimeters in diameter.) Using a 3 1/2- to 4-inch/9- or 10-centimeter round cookie cutter, cut out 8 circles and gently ease these into the cups of a muffin tin. (If you use a 4-inch cookie cutter, you'll need to roll the dough very thin.) Press down to fill the cups and press the sides so that the pastry rises to the rim of the cup; doing this will help you fill the tarts generously. Re-roll the remaining pastry to form 4 more circles and transfer to the muffin tin. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Blind-bake the pastry: Line the pastry shells with either paper muffin liners or squares of parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans and then bake for 18 minutes, or until the pastry shells are a light golden brown around the edges and inside. Remove the parchment paper liners and weights and return the pastry to the oven for another 6 to 7 minutes, until dark golden brown. Quickly and carefully remove the shells from the muffin tin and set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.
• To serve the tarts: Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons (about 40 grams) of the curd into each tart shell, or enough curd to fill the shell up to the rim. Smooth the surface of the curd with the back of a knife. Sprinkle the center of each tart with a pinch of Demerara sugar and then arrange the small mint leaves or shredded mint on top. Finally, drizzle each tart with few drops of the remaining tablespoon of rum.