I like to sleep with the TV on. I go through a cycle of which TV show to put on but currently, I'm rewatching Friends for the 100th time. In one of the episodes, Monica accidentally gives Ross a food allergy attack with her kiwi lime tarts. Rewatching that scene, I instantly had an "a-ha!" moment. Kiwi lime tarts! I had to make them. And so, I channeled my inner Monica and whipped up a batch. These mini tarts are a wonderful summer treat, tart with a touch of sweetness all wrapped in a buttery crust. Thank you for the inspiration, Monica Gellar!
Kiwi Lime Tarts
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour (246 grams)
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar (43 grams)
- ½ cup cold butter, cut into small cubes (113 grams)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Key lime curd
- ½ cup kiwi juice (about 3 pureed kiwis, 150 grams)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 5 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- ¼ cup butter cut into chunks (57 grams)
- 2-3 kiwis, sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Make shortcrust pastry dough. In a food processor, combine flour with powdered sugar and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand.
- Whisk egg and slowly add to dough while processor is on. Continue to pulse dough until it comes together. Remove dough from food processor and shape into a ball. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper until it's ⅛ inch thick. Lay dough on baking sheet and chill in fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
- Remove dough from fridge and peel off top layer of parchment paper. Cut out rounds with 3-inch biscuit cutter for a total of 16 portions. Line 2 ½-inch mini tart shells with dough to create the crust. Poke bottom crust with a fork and return to the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Line tart shells with parchment paper and fill the crusts with baking weights. Bake tart shells for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and remove parchment paper with weights. Return to the oven and continue baking for 8-10 minutes or until shells are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, make kiwi lime curd. Whisk together kiwi juice, egg yolks, egg, sugar, lime juice, and zest in a medium saucepot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking frequently. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until curd is thickened. Remove from heat and add butter, whisking until butter is fully incorporated. Pour curd into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly touching the curd. Let cool slightly.
- Spoon warm curd into cooled pastry crusts, filling each pastry. Chill kiwi lime tarts in the fridge for 2 hours or until set.
- Before serving, top curds with fresh chopped kiwi.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
When I was trying to decide how to make these kiwi lime tarts, I decided to go the simple route. I wanted a shortcrust pastry for the crust and a straightforward kiwi lime curd. Keep the flavors simple and let the kiwi and lime really shine.
Making shortcrust pastry does take some time because you have to chill the dough throughout the process. There's a lot of butter and the dough gets soft quickly so it's important to take the time to chill the dough.
Use a pastry cutter or food processor to combine the dry ingredients with the cold butter. Then, add the room temperature egg, pulsing until well combined. It's important to use a room temperature egg because it'll incorporate into the dough more evenly.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper until it's ⅛ inch thick. You don't want to roll it out directly on the counter because it'll be a nightmare to transfer it to a baking sheet after.
Chill the dough until it's firm, about 1 hour. You can also speed up the process and freeze it for 30 minutes or chill it overnight.
Roll out the dough and cut out 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter. Place the dough inside 2 ½ inch mini tart shells to create the crust. If you don't have mini tart shells you can use a muffin pan instead. To get the pretty edges, use a scalloped biscuit cutter and line the muffin pan with the dough.
Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork to prevent it from rising. Chill the dough again for another hour or until firm. When you're ready, line the shells with parchment paper, fill them with baking weights, and bake. After 12 minutes, remove the weights and paper and bake until golden brown.
Let the crusts cool completely before adding the filling. I went ahead and baked the pastry crust the day before since they take a while to prepare.
Now for the filling. We're going to use fresh kiwi juice, lime juice, and lime zest to flavor the curd. You want to use ripe kiwis or the curd will be especially tart.
Since there's a lot of liquid in this curd, you can cook it directly in the pot. Just make sure to whisk frequently while it's simmering. If you want to be careful, feel free to cook the curd in a double boiler; however, it'll probably take longer for it to thicken.
Once the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from heat and add the butter. Now if you see the image above you'll realize that the filling is yellow. All of the eggs dilute the natural green kiwi color so I added one drop of green food coloring. Yes, it's cheating but it helps people realize that there's actual kiwi and lime in the filling.
Let the curd cool slightly and then fill the pastry shells. You don't want the curd to cool completely or else it'll be harder to fill the shells.
Return the kiwi lime tarts to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, allowing the curd to set. Before serving, take out the tarts and top them with fresh kiwi slices.
I like to let the tarts sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before devouring them. If you serve the tarts straight out of the fridge, the crust won't taste as buttery and flaky. However, either way you enjoy them, they'll still be delicious.
The tart lime with the subtle kiwi notes were just lovely together. Pair the filling with a buttery short crust pastry and you have summer in a little bite!
For more tart inspiration check out this pear chocolate hazelnut tart recipe!
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