Lime Tart with Coconut Crust

Lime Tart with Coconut Crust

Wow, is this stuff ever good. I don't know how else to start this post because this tart turned out so well I wanted to eat the whole thing. I settled with a single fork-full and fed the rest to the kids, who liked it just as much.

The filling is nearly identical to my favorite Key Lime Pie, but the crust is the real star of the show here. Lime zest, flaked coconut and butter ... what's not to love? I think it's perfect from now until oh ... Christmas? Yeah, that would work.

Use Key limes if you can get them. They're sweeter and smaller and worth the effort to find.

Close-up of the crust. Mmmmm.

Lime Tart with Coconut Crust
Makes on 9-inch pie
Printable Recipe

1  9-in pie shell
5 egg yolks
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
Zest of 1 lime (about a teaspoon)


Preheat oven to 375. Make the tart crust first and reduce heat to 350.
Put the yolks in a large bowl and beat them with a whisk, just breaking them and mixing
them well. Slowly stir in the condensed milk. Mixing well, stir in the lime juice. Pour the filling into the
tart shell (below). Bake for about 12-to-15 minutes. Remove and cool completely before cutting.
Serve with freshly whipped cream if desired.

1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
pinch of salt

Combine butter and coconut in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer until well combined. Add zest and beat just until incorporated. Stir in flour and sugar with a wooden spoon. This is a sticky dough - flour hands or coat with more confectioner's sugar.

Press into and up sides of a well-greased, fluted 9-inch pie pan with a removable bottom. Bake at  375 degrees F. for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside while making pie filling.

St. Andrè Dessert Tart

A most delicious and decadent tart

In the world of cheeses there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of richness. That cheese is St. Andrè. Hailing from France (mais, oui) it is a triple crème cheese with a soft rind and a butterfat content of 70% - rich, indeed.

St. Andrè triple crème cheese - just starting to soften at the top, if left at room temperature for 20 minutes it will become soft and very spreadable.

It pairs perfectly with several light beers and is perfect for spreading on a French baguette. I decided to do something a bit more decadent and designed this dessert tart using this truly luxurious cheese. The crust is very tender and delicate and the filling was perfectly done - not too set, just right. I may make this again with cream cheese replacing the ricotta. Not that it's not divine as-is, but the ricotta makes the texture a bit more grainy than I'd like. I think cream cheese or mascarpone would do very well here.

Find out more about St. Andrè Cheese at the Ile de France website or check out their interactive cheese map for other delicious French cheeses.

Orange, pine nuts and St. Andrè cheese make this tart a wonderfully delicious treat.

St. Andrè Dessert Tart
Serves 8

1 cup lightly toasted pine nuts - divided
1 stick butter
1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 Tablespoons milk
1 cup ricotta cheese
12 ounces St. Andre cheese - rind removed and at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
(Larger amounts of orange flavoring mask the cheese too much)

Process 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts until finely chopped. Add butter and pulse until smooth. Add flour and salt and pulse until crumbly. Add milk, as needed, and run processor on low speed until a ball forms. Remove dough from processor and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta, St. Andre, sugar, eggs, extract and zest in processor and pulse until very smooth and well combined. Fold in remaining pine nuts.

Press dough into and up the sides of a greased 10-inch spring-form pan or a pan with removable sides. Pour in filling and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 - 45 minutes or until center is nearly set. Shake the pan gently to determine this. A little jiggle in the center is what you're looking for.

Let cool for 20 minutes or so before refrigerating. Serve chilled.

Chocolate-Crusted Chocolate Tarts

Chocolate Crusted Chocolate Tarts

We had these for dessert last night and they were spectacular. I didn't have everything on-hand so I improvised, but the result was so good there's no way you'd know they weren't supposed to be that way.

The recipe is from the Better Homes & Gardens 2003 cookbook - you can find it HERE. I've added the changes I made in blue.


Chocolate-Crusted Chocolate Tarts
Makes: 8 servings
Prep: 25 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes
Cool: 30 minutes
Stand: 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients


* 1 recipe Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart Shells (see recipe below)
* 10 to 10-1/2 ounces 85-percent-cocoa chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (1 12- ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips)
* 3/4 cup whipping cream (I only had milk on-hand and used 1 cup in lieu of cream and milk)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 3 tablespoons flavored honey (raspberry, cinnamon, or ginger)(omitted)
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* Halved or chopped hazelnuts (filberts) (optional)(almonds)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degree F. Prepare Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart Shells; set aside.

2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate, cream, and milk. Microwave, uncovered, on 100 percent power (high) for 3 to 4 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring once each minutes. Stir in honey. ( Or, place chocolate in a medium-bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan combine cream and milk. Bring to boiling. Pour over chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in honey.)

3. Place egg in another medium bowl. Gradually stir hot chocolate mixture into beaten egg. Pour into tart shells.

4. Bake 25 minutes. Cool slightly on wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve warm. If desired, garnish with coarsely chopped hazelnuts (filberts). Makes 12 servings.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Crust: 

Preheat oven to 375 degree F. 
Lightly coat 12 - 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 
In a medium bowl stir together 
1/2 cup melted butter, 
2 tablespoons sugar (omitted), 
1-3/4 cup crushed chocolate wafer crumbs (about 32 cookies)(I used Oreos with the filling), and 
2/3 cup ground hazelnuts (I had almonds on-hand and used those). 

Press into the bottom and sides of prepared muffin cups. Bake for 5 minutes. Using the bottom of a 1/4 or 1/3 cup dry measuring cup, lightly press down bottoms of crusts. Set aside while making filling.

Leftover Sausage and the Sausage Sandwich Tart

*Disclaimer: These photos are really bad. My poor old camera is not doing so well, I guess, but a new one is absolutely out of the budget for now. Hey, it still looks like food, right?*

My mother brought over the mammoth of all sausages - a full 3 1/2 pounds from her favorite butcher. I have no idea why she thought we needed that much, but she was thrilled that they still use real butcher paper and tape, and so, I humored her and told her how fabulous I thought it was. In truth, I still get meat from my own butcher in real butcher paper, but I let mom have her moment.

I cooked all of it at once, knowing we would never eat it all in one sitting, and set aside what we didn't eat with homemade waffles and thought on what else I'd like to make. I had a bit of puff pastry leftover and some lovely red and green peppers and a very nice yellow onion. I really enjoy a good sausage sandwich and decided a tart based on that would be pretty darn good. I was right.

I pressed the pastry into a 10 inch round baking pan, caramelized the peppers and onions and sliced the sausage thinly and layered it all together. I think it baked for a total of 30 minutes at 400 degrees F and it was far prettier than my photos captured. Far more delicious, too!