Lemon lime tart = happy birthday! 5 November 2006

C’mon, blow your candle, so we can eat!

It’s nearing that time of the year when we need a birthday cake for Dui. Reminded me of last year’s “cake” – a scrumptious lemon lime cream tart. We opted to bake it ourselves, inspired by Jamie Oliver’s easygoing attitude to cooking. Hey, and it was pretty easy!

It was a nice, refreshing change from the typical chocolate cake that’s usually expected by the kids. Of course it’s also a nice treat for the grown-ups – I know I usually hold off the cake at kiddie parties because it’s on the unusually sweet side.

I thought that the youngsters would be disappointed when their chocolate cake metamorphosed into the tart, but no, they loved it just as much as we oldies!

What you need:
1 tart shell, baked blind (see recipe here)
Note: Make sure to egg wash your uncooked tart shell so that the filling doesn’t seep through! The egg wash serves as a sort of barrier.

Filling:
1 ½ cups sugar
8 large eggs
1 ½ cups heavy cream1 cup lime juice
½ cup lemon juice

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
2. Whisk together your eggs and sugar in a bowl. Slowly stir in the cream and the juices.
3. Pour the filling in your cooked tart shell. It’s easier if your shell is already in the oven when you pour the filling, to reduce the chances of spilling your filling.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes. The filling should be semi-wobbly in the middle but firmer in the outer edges.
5. Cool for an hour. The filling should firm up and you know its done when you cut it up it is soft and smooth – it shouldn’t be gooey or runny. If it’s not quite done, pop it in the fridge for about 10 more minutes.
6. Garnish by dusting with confectioner’s sugar. Great with a dollop of whipped cream, ricotta cheese, or vanilla ice cream.

A word of caution. Don’t play too much with the proportions of the lemon and lime juices. We didn’t have enough limes one time and used mostly lemon juice – it was a too tart tart!

Anyway, that was last year’s cake. We’ll be thinking up something new for this year’s celebration … the big 8!