A Strawberry-Lime Curd and Cream Tart

Plus: Three must-have techniques and recipes to create your own great desserts. Oh, and a teeny rant.

An earlier pass of this newsletter began with a real rant of an essay. I spent much of the week feeling gnawed on by the news and the general state of things.

I wrote about feeling out of control. How for those of us who make politics and news our business, the sources of worry and anger are myriad. Why Justice-King Alito’s abuse of the legal system, his mate Thomas’s similar “rules for thee, but not for me” approach to ethics, makes me feel as if we’re chasing them with the Fly Swatter of Justice, only to have the culprits dodge us with a self-satisfied sneer. I’m not even mentioning Trump. Or my thoughts on self-checkout at the grocery store. And the price of…

I’ll just say, I suspect I’m not alone in my thoughts.

(Would you mind clicking the heart-shaped “like” button above, so my AI overlords stop haunting my dreams?)

Since I also spent a good deal of the week perfecting this week’s recipe, which is an ode to strawberry season, and I can’t bear the thought of Samuel Alito — I mean, Samuel Alito’s wife, he just has no control over the little lady, you know women! — ruining this dessert, let’s talk tart.

My writing companion, Calvin, hard at work.

This week’s offering is a truly luscious tart that uses late spring’s bounty of strawberries in two different ways. A crumbly cookie-like tart (a pâte sablée) is filled with a strawberry-lime curd, and then crowned with a layer of whipped cream and macerated fresh strawberries.

While there are a number of steps to making the dessert, you can make the elements at your own pace, then finish the tart just before serving.

There are three main components to this tart and knowing how to make each will be a great addition to your dessert arsenal.

Pâte sablée: Crumbly and buttery, this sweet cookie dough is the one to use when you need a pre-baked tart shell to fill with unbaked fillings such as custard, pudding, and curd.

Fruit curd: See my oh-goodness-how-have-I-lived-so-long-without-this-life-changing hack for making curd in the microwave. The specific recipe for making strawberry curd is below.

Whipped cream: Could whipped cream be even better? Add in sour cream or crème fraîche to create a more stable and tasty cream that pairs especially well with fruit fillings. It also garnishes any pound or tea cake beautifully. Oh, say like a blueberry-lemon pound cake, or a toasted a slice of pumpkin bread, drizzled with apple-cider caramel and graced with a spoonful of this.

Notes on the Making of the Tart:

• Can you use frozen berries? Yes, just thaw them first and drain the liquid off for another use. Only purée the berries.

• While I typically never make a citrus curd with anything other than sugar, eggs, butter and lemon, strawberry curd requires some tweaks. Strawberries aren’t especially acidic, and the acid is needed to help the curd set, so I add lime juice. Lime (lemon or yuzu are great alternatives) also boosts the strawberry flavor and adds a pleasant tang.

• I also add a bit of corn starch to help the curd keep itself together when it’s in the tart shell. Without it, the curd runs out of the pie crust as soon as you cut a slice. If you plan to use the strawberry curd to drizzle over scones or meringues, feel free to leave out the corn starch.

• You can double the amount of macerated strawberries and serve extra on the side of each slice of tart.

• Need more curd helpful hints? Want a recipe for passion fruit curd? Look here.

  

  When the dough comes together like this, it’s time to put it in the tart pan

Strawberry Lime Curd and Cream Tart

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Strawberry-Lime Curd and Cream Tart

Yield: 1 9-inch tart, enough to feed 10 or so.

What You’ll Need:

9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom

For the Pâte Sablée

1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (57g) confectioner’s sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (113 grams) cold butter, cut into 32 (or so) pieces

1 egg, beaten

For the Strawberry-Lime Curd

200 grams strawberries, rinsed, dried and green tops removed

1/4 cup (58 grams) fresh lime juice

Zest of 1 lime

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 egg yolks

3 large eggs

16 tablespoons (226 grams) butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 tablespoon corn starch

For the Macerated Strawberries

2 cups (200 grams) whole strawberries

1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

zest of one lime

What You’ll Do:

First: Make the Pâte Sablée

Of course you can do this all by hand, but in the interest of time, I’m using a food processor.

1. Pulse the flour, sugar and salt a few times to blend.

2. Sprinkle the butter over the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is shredded into oat- and pea-sized pieces. Drizzle the beaten egg over the top and pulse for 5-second bursts until the dough begins to just clump together and there is no flour visible.

3. Press dough evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Don’t forget to push the dough up the sides to make an even crust. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

4. Heat the oven to 375° F. Place the tart on a baking sheet. Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the tart and slightly hang over the edge. Pour pie weights (if you’re fancy), or dried beans (if you’re like me) on top of the parchment paper to prevent the crust from rising as it bakes.

5. Bake the tart for 25 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper and beans off. Put the tart back in the oven to continue baking for a further 5 to 8 minutes or until pale gold and still slightly soft to the touch. The pastry will harden further as it cools. Meanwhile, pick up all the black beans you spilled when you lifted the parchment off the tart. Two beans skiddered into the other room, so go look for them, too. Do not start cleaning the baseboards now, no matter how shocked you are by their current state. It’s not just your house. I promise.

6. Let the tart cool completely before filling. And yes, you can make this the day before.

Make the Strawberry Curd

At least 8 hours in advance, and up to 48 hours:

1. Make the strawberry puree: In a food processor, or blender, pulverize the strawberries until they are liquid.

2. In a large microwavable bowl whisk together 1 cup of the puree, sugar, lime juice, egg yolks, whole eggs and corn starch (if using). Add the butter.

3. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for 45 seconds on high heat.

4. Remove the bowl from the microwave and whisk for about 10 seconds, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

5. Repeat the 45-second blasts and 10-second whiskings until the mixture looks uniformly thickened. It should measure at least 175 degrees F. Dip a spoon in the mixture. Draw your finger across the back of the spoon. Your finger should leave a clean line. And probably hurt from being stuck in a 175-degree liquid. It will continue to set as it cools.

6. Let the mixture cool on the counter for about 20 minutes. Press a piece of plastic wrap to the surface of the mixture. Tightly wrap the bowl and refrigerate until cold before using.

One to two hours before serving:

1. Macerate the fresh strawberries: Rinse, dry and remove the green tops of the berries. Dice into small pieces. Place in a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and some lime zest. Set aside until ready to serve.

2. Make the whipped cream: In a large bowl, add the heavy cream, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold in the creme fraiche or sour cream. Chill until ready to use.

Finally! Assemble the Tart

Remove the tart from the pan and place the crust on the beautiful dish from which you plan to serve it. Fill the tart shell with the strawberry curd. Smooth, blob or pipe the whipped cream on top. If you are not serving right away, chill in the refrigerator. Just before serving, dollop the macerated berries over the top. Sprinkle with lime zest.

Oooo! Ahhh! Right?!

PODCAST NOTE: Join me for the latest episode of The Secret Life of Cookies, as my guest, journalist Jess McHugh, shares an utterly compelling, true-life love story of two Nazi hunters in France.

May I encourage you all to give yourself a little bit of time—even if you must catch it in snippets here and there—going outside for a walk and literally smelling the roses, which are at peak in much of the northern hemisphere), or watching crappy TV without interruption, maybe reading a book (Me? Deacon King Kong by James McBride), or staring blankly at a wall and just breathing? If you folks do it, then I will do it, too. And maybe the rest will help us successfully nab those dangerous flies in the coming weeks.

And Now the Part Where I Beg Like a Dog:

This substack is a reader-supported publication. I cannot do it without you. If you’re able, paying for a subscription helps pay for the groceries necessary for recipe-testing and recipe development. For about the same cost as a cookbook, it gives you access to an index over 170 recipes, plus new ones every week. Also, it supports me—a freelance writer—and ad-free journalism.

The pay scale for journalists and writers has not kept up with the cost of living. That’s why having a substack newsletter has become such a terrific venue for so many writers. Best of all, it puts me, Bosco, Calvin and Clyde in touch with our readers like never before. And: Now Bosco has expensive rotisserie chicken habits.

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