Kiwi Lime Tarts

These little sweets disappeared so fast a few weeks ago at Book Club, I almost forgot about them. The theme that night was English tea snacks since we had read Holly's Inbox. The book was a light, comical read. I enjoy English humor, so I found the book fun and different with the format of reading e-mails in the main character's work inbox. It was a nice escape from our more dramatic history reads, although we've returned to that again without realizing it beforehand.

We take turns hosting, so I started everyone off with some sandwiches - chicken tarragon & tuna salad, plus my famous egg curry, which I'll have to remember to share another time. Then we enjoyed some tart cherry scones and these kiwi lime tarts.

The most time consuming aspect of making these tarts are pressing the crust into the tiny molds, otherwise the recipe is fairly simple. I picked up the little molds at Bed, Bath, & Beyond at around 3 for $1, so I grabbed 15 in all so they could be prepared all at once, although one large tart pan can also be used.

I love the combination of kiwi and lime, plus I had some curd left over to enjoy on its own. The crust was light and flaky, with the sweet and tart curd filling that made it a perfect summer dessert. Make sure to have a fine mesh sieve on hand to filter the curd since some of the eggs are likely to cook, plus the smooth and creamy texture is a must for these sweets.

Kiwi Lime Tarts

Printable Recipe

Curd

1/2 cup turbinado
1 stick butter, sliced into tbsp
2 limes, fully zested and juiced
2 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small sauce pan, add the turbinado, butter, lime zest & juice and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the burner and lower heat to medium-low. In a small bowl with the beaten eggs, add a large spoonful of the lime mixture while whisking to warm the eggs. Then add the egg mixture into the pan and return to the stove. Continue to stir the curd for 5-7 min until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Using a fine mesh sieve, pour the curd through the sieve into a clean bowl and discard the solids. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the curd, and place in the refrigerator while preparing the crust.

Crust

1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup turbinado
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick butter, sliced into tbsp

Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, water, and vanilla; set aside. In a mixer, add the remaining ingredients and blend just until the butter turns into tiny pieces. Then add the egg yolk mixture and blend until the dough is just coming together.

Using your hands, add approximately 2 tbsp of crust to a mini tart shell and press into all the nooks and crannies, making sure to leave an indentation for the curd. Once all the shells are filled, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-17 min, watching closely so that they are light brown and not burned. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool slightly for 10 min. Once cool, remove the curd from the refrigerator and add 1 tbsp to each tart.

To add the kiwi garnish, peel and slice a kiwi. Then quarter each slice and add one piece to each tart. Serve immediately or keep cool in the refrigerator until serving time.

~Yields 15 mini tarts.

~Crust recipe from Sweet Mary & Curd adapted from Williams-Sonoma.