Lime and Coconut Tart

Although I am more a person of sweet flavors in the wintertime (cinnamon, clove, apples…), I felt a need for some tarty tart.

Making citrus curd is maybe even better than preserving jam, because not only you get to eat it with the spoon or on the bread, but you also can make some fine dessert too.

I am still new to gluten-free crusts, so it seemed like a smart idea to use the tested recipe and to adapt it only slightly (recipe for the crust in my Light Raspberry and Pistachio Cheesecake).

All in all, it was one nice tart. If you like the coco-citrus combo, you must give it a try.

LIME AND COCONUT TART (gluten-free)*

-serves 8 –

Ingredients:

Tart crust (9-inch round pie form)

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup ground almonds

1 egg

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1 tablespoon honey (or other liquid sugar replacement)

*if you do not care about gluten-free, do a simple cookie crust as for cheesecake or classic pâte sucrée

Lime curd

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar – I used brown turbinado sugar, which was a stupid idea because it ruined the beautiful color of limes. However, taste was excellent, so if you do not mind the color, go with brown, but if you want to keep the color, use the regular white caster sugar instead, in the same amount.

2 limes – it makes 1/4 cup lime juice + zest of one lime

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)

Decoration (optional)

2 tablespoons shredded coconut

1 lime, sliced then cut in tiny pieces

Instructions:

Tart crust

Preheat the oven to 375F (180C).
Melt the butter then leave to cool.
In a big bowl whisk the eggs and honey, add a pinch of salt. Now pour in the melted butter and stir a little.
Add coconut flour and almonds to the wet ingredients. Stir it good, until all ingredients combine.
Grease your pie form, then press the crust into it, taking small amounts at the time. Make an 1-inch .
Bake about 8 min.

Lime curd**

Wash your limes in at least two waters, in which you added a teaspoon of vinegar. If you have organic limes, you are a lucky guy!
Blend the lime zest together with half amount of the sugar.
Squeeze lime juice, you should get 1/4 cup (60 ml) of juice.
Make a steam water bath, then set your glass-proof dish on top. Pour in the juice, add sugar and zest blend, and the rest of the sugar. Leave on the water bath until sugar dissolves almost completely.
Now take it off the water bath and add eggs, stirring constantly in slow motion. Look for the heat not to be strong so your eggs do not cook and you end up with lumps.
Cook the curd for about10-12 minuta, then add the butter, turn of the heat and remove the dish on the side. Stir if necessary to combine the butter in it.

**you can make curd in advance and keep it in the fridge up to 3 weeks. With a pre-made curd, this tart is a 15-minute dessert!

Arranging

Pour the curd in a prebaked tart crust and put back in the oven for another 7-8 minutes until tart crust starts to get brown on the edges.
When it cools down, sprinkle coconut on top of the tart and decorate with some lime pieces if you like.