Spring has finally arrived!!! It’s time to frolic in the sunshine, participate in outdoor gatherings, and enjoy bright flavours in our food again. If you are attending a social event and would like to impress the other guests with an eye-catching dessert that also delivers on flavour, I highly recommend trying out this tart recipe. Don’t be fooled by the lengthy instructions and tips/notes list, it really isn’t that difficult to make. You can do this! Maybe just skip the candy part and decorate with some fresh raspberries instead.
Notes/Tips
The lemon curd can be made a day or two in advance, which I 100% recommend.
The sugar spirals are optional in my opinion. They are beautiful but are also a little tricky. I burnt mine. If you do make them, be aware that they probably won’t take the 25-30 minutes to become a caramel color. As soon as you start to see a faint caramel color happening in the pot, and it will probably only happen on one side of the pan, take the pot off the heat and dip in cold water right away. It’s very easy to overcook the sugar – I did
Wait for the syrup to cool a little before trying to spiral, I found the prettiest spirals were made when the syrup was a little more stiff.
The sugar spirals don’t keep very well when it’s humid out, they tend to get sticky and lose their crispness.
I bet some fresh raspberries would be just as nice on top.
The original recipe called for a regular pie crust but I find press-in shortbread crusts easier to work with and generally tastier.
Read this entire recipe all the way through once before starting.
Lemon Velvet Tart
Tart Shell
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Filling
8oz (230 gr) white chocolate, chopped – I used chips
8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 eggs yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, cubed
Caramelized Sugar Spirals – optional
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
8 crushed lemon candies – like suckers
STEP ONE – make the lemon curd
Lemon Curd
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 eggs yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, cubed
Bring sugar, zest, and juice to a boil in a heavy nonaluminum 3 1/2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and gradually whisk about one-fourth hot juice mixture into egg yolks; add egg yolk mixture to remaining hot juice mixture, whisking constantly until well blended.
Place saucepan over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, at least 10 or up to 12 minutes. (Mixture will be kind of thick, like unset pudding)
Add butter, in 6 batches, whisking constantly until butter melts and mixture is well blended after each addition. Remove from heat, and pour mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on warm curd (to prevent a film from forming); chill 3 hours.
Lime Curd: Substitute lime zest and lime juice for lemon zest and lemon juice. Proceed with recipe as directed.
STEP TWO – make the crust
Press-In Shortbread Tart Shell
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Stir together butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in yolks. Add flour and salt, and stir until mixture is dry and crumbly. Press dough into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake, rotating halfway through, just until crust turns golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool in tart pan on a wire rack, 1 hour.
STEP THREE – make the sugar spirals, or skip to step 4
Caramelized Sugar Spirals
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
8 crushed lemon candies
Stir together sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water in a 3 1/2-qt. heavy saucepan until blended. Place pan over medium-high heat, and cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 305° to 315° or until mixture begins to turn a golden caramel color (about 25 to 30 minutes). Remove from heat, and stir just until color is evenly distributed, using a clean wooden spoon. Carefully place bottom of saucepan into cold water to stop the cooking process. Remove from water, and let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Sprinkle crushed lemon candies over a piece of parchment paper. Carefully spoon about 1 Tbsp. hot syrup over candies in a circular motion, creating 3-inch discs. (If syrup gets too thick, place saucepan back over heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until syrup slightly melts. Use a clean spoon to continue making spirals.) Let cool 10 minutes or until completely cool. (Mixture will harden as it cools.)
STEP FOUR – make the filling
Microwave white chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Mine didn’t take the whole 1 ½ minutes, but be careful because white chocolate can overcook easily and there is no saving it after that point.
Beat softened cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about a minute. Add melted chocolate, and beat until blended, stopping to scrape down sides. Add Lemon Curd, and beat until blended.
Spoon into prepared crust. Smooth filling with a spatula. Chill 4 hours.
Arrange lemon candies evenly on top of tart. Prop Caramelized Sugar Spirals against lemon candies.