Life gives you lemons...make a lemon tart

Any of you who have been reading me for awhile know about my recipe "file" that lives on top of my microwave.  Recently, I came across a recipe in a magazine for Easter dishes and one in particular caught my eye.  It was a beautiful photo of a lemon tart with coconut crust.  Well, Easter came and went and the tart didn't get made.  But, I was determined that this one wasn't going to take up residence on the microwave.  Well, to be truthful, it may actually live up there for awhile, but not long-term before being made.

Finished product

On a recent day off, I embarked on this tart to surprise the fam.  Before I get into it, let me say this:  OMG, this tart is my new bff btw, lmao.  Yeah, it was good enough that it just caused me to type non-words that any good Belieber would understand!  Neil and the Vivver flipped their wigs too.  So my friends, I post a recipe for you today.  My only words of wisdom from my experience is I'd add more butter to the crust, to make it more pliable when pressing into the pan.  You'll probably have more crust than necessary, so just use what you need to fit your pan properly.  Also, I was surprised to find that straining curd isn't as easy as you think.  Not that it's hard, but you need to invest a little time pressing on it to get the curd through the pulp and through the strainer.  Don't worry; it's worth the effort!



Lemon Tart with Coconut Crust
lemon curd

Isn't it cute how they cuddled up into a flower?

• 8 large egg yolks
• grated zest of 3 lemons
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 10 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 

coconut crust

• 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup Nilla wafer crumbs
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted & cooled

1. Make curd:  In a pan, whisk yolks, zest, juice, sugar and salt.  Cook over medium, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat; whisk in butter, one piece at a time, until melted.  Strain into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface of curd. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
3. Make crust: stir coconut, crumbs and melted butter until blended.  Firmly press into the bottom and up sides of a 10" tart pan.  (You could get away with a pie plate or springform pan here I think, if you don't have a tart pan.)  Chill 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350.  Bake crust until golden, 15 minutes or so.  Let cool on a rack.
5. Spread curd onto the crust.  Remove tart from pan, slice and serve.  

  It would be at this juncture that you're receiving rave reviews from your friends and family.  Have a short speech ready and don't forget to thank the Academy.  Enjoy friends! 

Pin It