We have 2 beautiful lime trees in the garden and I feel Mum has left them untouched for far too long! As one of the most enjoyed citrus flavours in my family, I decided to make use of the uber-fresh limes I had at my disposal and make a lime tart.
1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry, or 375g ready-prepared pastry (I used a sheet of the ready made stuff which is available at most good supermarkets)
lime filling
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
1 cup double cream
1 cup lime juice (alternatively you can swap the lime juice for lemon juice or, blood orange juice which gives the tart the most amazing pinky red colour)
150ml orange juice
zest of 2 limes & 1 orange
Preheat the oven to 180dC. Roll out the pastry to fit a lightly greased 25cm (10 inch) removable-base tart tin. Using a fork, prick a few holes in the pastry and line with non-stick baking paper. Fill with rice or baking weights and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking weights and paper and bake for a further 10 minutes. This process is called blind baking and will keep the tart shell crisp when filled with a wet filling.
To make the lime filling, place the sugar, eggs,cream, lime and orange juice and the zest in a bowl and mix to combine. Pour into the tart shell, reduce the oven to 160dC and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is just set. Refrigerate the tart until firm.
When cut, the filing should be shiny and quite gooey, just oozing out – similar to brie cheese.
mkt.
