Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives

The first time I ever had Key Lime Pie, was when I was about 11, on school vacation in West Palm Beach, Fla with my family. I remember thinking ‘Wow, this is even better than Lemon Meringue Pie..I think I’m going to invent a Lime Meringue Pie with this cool key lime.. (not yet privvy, or shall I say, innocently ignorant to the fact that thousands of chefs and home cooks had already nailed that one, along with ‘name ANY citrus fruit curd’ meringue pies)..SO, when we get back home, the first thing I want is key limes.

Me : “WHAT?? There’s no key limes at the local supermarket? What about the fruit stands, Mom?? OMG, I really want to ‘invent’ this pie, and NO, I’m not using regular limes!”

Mom: “Oh, honey, you can’t really tell the difference, trust me”

Actually, there IS a difference, and quite a discernible one at that. Not only does it look different (thinner rind, and ‘mostly’ more yellow green, unlike the deep green limes you see at your supermarket) but the key lime is more tart, and has a slightly bitter undertone to it.

Although most associate it with the Florida Keys, Hemingway, and all that jazz..surprisingly, it’s native to Southeast Asia, and made it’s way to the tropical climates of North America via the Middle East, then on to Italy, Africa, finally ending up in the West Indies, where it made it’s way throughout the Caribbean, and is now also grown in places like Mexico and California.

Having said all that, as the weather has gotten warmer, my craving for anything key lime has started to increase, so, on to my dessert..Individual Key Lime Tartlets with White Chocolate Mousse, raspberry, candied macadamia nuts, and a simple syrup doused with some of the oils accumuluated from macadamia nuts being ground into a paste.

I started by using *Claudia Fleming’s recipe for graham cracker tart shell dough from her book The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern . I decided to make 4-inch tarts (incorporating ground macadamia nuts into the dough) which gave me 6 filled to the top tarts total. Since I had some leftover dough, I eventually used it for what else? Graham crackers! Not your ‘usual’ graham crackers, but round, lumpy ones with cocoa nibs and other toppings, like chile flakes and fleur de sel. That’s another blog, though.

These are the tart shells after being docked, and baked blind…ready to be filled and baked again. I used a basic key lime/condensed milk filling for these,which you’ll see in the full recipe at the end.

Once they’re baked and filled, they go back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes. They firm up rather quickly, but still need to be refrigerated for a while before plating and serving.

And here they are out of the oven. Now, there’s a ton of ways you can plate and serve these babies. Below, are three examples, (one with a whole lot of meringue)…with the recipe following.

Other ways include whipped cream, mint, lots of other kinds of fruits and/or chocolates (like a dark chocolate drizzle across the top of the tart) or toasted coconut. Fleur de Sel makes a nice crunchy contrast, whether it be on the tart itself, the fruits, or the mousse, as does a pinch or three of dried chile flakes or cayenne, for a little extra kick. The sky is pretty much the limit here, as these tarts are your ‘blank canvas’, and a tasty one at that!

Key Lime Tartlets with White Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry, Candied Macadamia Nuts, and Macadamia Simple Syrup

*Graham Cracker Tart Shells

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup ground macadamia nuts
• 6-12 tsps of raspberry preserves or jam (optional)

Directions

1. To prepare the graham cracker shells, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the buter and sugars until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the honey and beat until well combined.2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, macadamia nuts, salt, and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Mix until the dough is well combined. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a disc. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
2. Preheat the oven to 325. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick, about a 13×16 rectangle. Using a 6-inch cookie cutter or glass, cut out 6 circles of dough and press them into lightly greased 4 to 4 1/2-inch tart pans, preferably with removeable bottoms (you can use smaller tart pans if you like, just cut out smaller circles of dough and adjust the baking time. Obviously, the smaller the tart pan, the more tarts you’ll get out of this recipe. On the flip side, you can make TWO 9-inch tarts, just double the key lime filling and, again, adjust the baking time) , trimming away excess dough. Prick the dough in each tart pan all over with a fork and chill on a baking sheet for 20 minutes or more.

3. Bake until golden brown, 15-18 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. When they’re cool, I like to lightly spread the bottom of each tart with about 1-2 tsps of raspberry preserves or seedless jam.
*Alternatively, you can use a basic graham cracker crust, using ground graham crackers. sugar and melted butter. To be honest, although Claudia’s tart dough is nice, I’m probably going to use the basic crust next time, as it’s a personal preference of mine when it comes to key lime tarts or tartlets.

Alternative Graham Cracker Crust, loosely adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients

 

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325F

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Evenly divide the mixture and press onto the bottom and up the sides of the 6 – 4 inch tart pans with removable bottoms. (Each tart will use about 1/4 cup of the graham cracker crumb mixture.) Place the tart shells in the refrigerator to chill for 10-15 minutes Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes, let cool, then fill and bake as directed.

Key Lime Filling

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup bottled or fresh key lime juice
• 1-2 tsps grated key lime or lime zest (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Directions

Raise the oven temperature to 350. Whisk together the milk, juice, eggs, zest and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the baked tart shells and bake for 15 minutes, or until barely set. Let come to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for about an hour.

White Chocolate Mousse (courtesy of my friend, Dennis, chef extraordinaire. I’ve been using this one on and off for years. It’s always my ’standby’)

Ingredients

• 9 ounces white chocolate
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 leaves gelatin soaked in cold water, then squeezed dry prior to adding to mousse mixture (or one half of a 1/4 oz package of granulated gelatin dissolved in 2 T of cold water)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 large egg whites
• pinch sea salt

Directions

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and stir until the sugar crystals are no longer visible. Add the chocolate to the egg mixture and blend. Add gelatin.

2. Either in a mixer fitted with a wire whisk attachment or by hand, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, do the same with the egg whites and the salt. Set aside both.

3. Slowly fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Carefully fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate-whipped cream mixture. Chill at least 2 hours prior to serving.

Macadamia simple syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole macadamia nuts

Directions

In small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved and you have a slightly thick, but clear syrup.

In a food processor, grind the macadamia nuts until they reach a paste consistency (you’ll be able to see the oil in that paste). Gather up the paste and oil into some cheesecloth, and squeeze some of the oil into the simple syrup. Add some of the paste too, if desired. Save the paste in a sealed container in the fridge, for any recipe you’d like to add it too, or just mix it with some cocoa and cream, for a ‘macadamia’ nutella.

Candied Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients

• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup whole macadamia nuts
• A favorite spice or two, like cayenne pepper, or coriander (optional)

Directions

In a skillet or pan, melt down the sugar and water and let it cook until it’s golden brown, or reaches the hard ball to hard crack stage. Quickly add the nuts, coating them in the caramel, then remove to a parchment lined sheet pan, making sure you separate them before they stick together. Add spices (if using) while the caramel is still hot, and roll the nuts around in them using a silicone spatula or spoon. Chop coarsely when cool.

Assemble

Place the tart in the center of your serving plate. Pipe or scoop a quenelle of the white chocolate mousse onto one side of the tart. Garnish with a slice or two of lime, some raspberries, the candied nuts, and a light drizzle of the macadamia syrup all over everything, so it glistens. Additional garnishes could include white and dark chocolate dipped raspberries or strawberries. Be creative!