[Note: This lime curd tart got some fresh photos and updated text in 2020.]
2020 Notes: Walk into any pastry shop in Paris and you’ll see a lemon tart (tarte au citron). One of the most classic pastries, it’s just lemon curd poured into a baked buttery pastry crust. Some will be more tart, some more sweet, some have meringue or fresh fruit on top, but most will be unadorned. Lime curd tarts are far less common but I think they equally deserve a place in your dessert canon. I’ve been making this one from Ina Garten (refer to it if you miss the original) for eons but these days I make it in fewer steps (no butter to warm, fewer dishes, and no pie weights) and thought you deserved to know how you could do the same. I like that it uses whole eggs, instead of just yolks, so you don’t have any leftover ingredients; that it doesn’t, like so many lime desserts, demand tiny, annoying-to-juice key limes; and takes full advantage of the lime zest, for full-bodied lime flavor. The recipe below makes a thicker tart shell that is, to be honest, not my favorite. My go-to is the one I use in this peanut tart. This would also be excellent in a graham crust, and save you some time too; use this one.
2006 Text: From the self-indicting delight of tiny infant fists gripping grownup forefingers to the calculated pinhole photography that lines my cubicle, I’m one of those girls, it seems, that can’t get enough of diminutive proportions. This absorption extends to the culinary world; from miniature artichokes and petite eggplants to pearl onions and microscopic zucchini, I find Lilliputian produce irresistible, and am incapable of not bringing them home by the bagful and readying them for their close-ups.
Baked goods are in no way spared these indignities. Puny cupcakes are always chosen over their brawny siblings, as are cheese puffs, scones and black-and-white cookies. “The more, the merrier!” I cheer until every flat surface (all three of them, that is) in our also-tiny apartment are filled with rows of one-bite delicacies and I exhaustedly wonder why I created three times the amount of work for myself.
I have no learning curve, however, so a trip to Bowery Kitchen Supply this weekend found me pressing my nose against a case of itsy tart pans, envisioning the Ina Garten Lime Curd Tart I have bookmarked in my head scaled down to finger food proportions for a Labor Day barbecue. My husband, who has long given up on trying to use such lines of reasoning on me as “but where will we keep them?” and “are these really necessary?” (and who I instead remind that “hey, at least my excessive spending habits are in occasional $20 increments and not, say, Chanel”), eeked out nary a protest, possibly because he quietly snickered knowing what was in store for me on Monday.
You see, as he and his sister sat on the sofa vegging on a Law & Order SVU marathon, I spent at least four episodes worth of time blending, patting, rolling, foil-lining, pie-weighting, baking, unmolding, cooling, peeling, grinding, juicing, stirring, filling and cooling 16 tartlets in the kitchen. I mean, it’s a good thing I consider obsessive baking projects a good time or I might have, in a very weak moment, considered throwing them out the window and making one-bowl cookies instead, never speaking of tartlets again.
I’m glad I didn’t – I really liked the results. Next time, I’d put less filling in each shell; the molds I bought are a little deep for the pungency of the lime curd, but otherwise the recipe is a keeper and my love affair with minuscule baked goods renewed. Which is good news, because moments after I bought the small tart molds on Saturday, I also succumbed to a four-pack of wee loaf pans. There’s no cure for this disease I have.
Lime Curd Tart
- 1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
- Two good pinches of salt
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (170 grams or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 4 medium/large limes
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- One good pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 4 large eggs
- Whipped cream, to serve (optional)
Tart shell
Filling
In a food processor: Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and vanilla to the bowl, then run the machine until the mixture forms large clumps — just keep running it; it might take another 30 seconds for it to come together, but it will. Transfer dough to a 10-inch round or 9-inch square tart pan with a removable bottom set and press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides. Transfer to freezer for 15 minutes, until solid.
Parbake crust: Once firm, prick all over with a fork. Coat a piece of foil with nonstick spray, and press it oiled-side-down tightly against the frozen crust, so it is fully molded to the shape. Bake tart with foil (no pie weights needed) for 20 minutes, then carefully, gently, a little at a time, peel back foil and discard. Return to oven for 10 to 20 minutes (keep an eye on it, I overbaked mine!), until lightly browned all over. Let cool to room temperature, ideally, but it’s okay to use if it’s still lukewarm.
Meanwhile, make the filling: Remove the zest of 4 limes with a vegetable peeler or zester/rasp, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the limes to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and salt and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. Add butter and blend until fully disperse into the sugar. Add eggs, two at a time, and blend to combine. Add lime juice and blend for a second or two.
Transfer the filling to a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. The lime curd will thicken at about 175°F, or just below a simmer. Remove from heat and pour into the tart shell. Transfer to the fridge to cool and set.
To serve: Add dolloped of lightly sweetened whipped cream (if you wish) and serve cool, in wedges or squares.
That is a lot of work Deb. Wow!
They look so good.
Oh my how I love the Ina lime curd recipe. I’ve done it with just the regular old pie crust, too, because I also had the crumbling problem.
So glad to see you doing all cooking all the time! Can’t wait to see what’s next.
Congratulations to you! I just got here from your iVillage site, and what a beautiful job you’re doing. I’ve loved your blog for ages, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this), this is even better. Hooray!
You know what? I’ve never had key-lime anything! Lemon, yes. But I love the green, and I have to try these. I’m impressed by the amount of work, too.
So glad I found this new blog. I began reading you…heck, maybe close to three years ago. I remember the entry…you were sitting at your desk watching the snow fall. It was fabulous, as I am certain that this blog is going to make me fat!
Tammi – While they were, it was more that I thought they’d be less so found myself surprised when four hours had passed and I was still in the kitchen. Other factors in this extended cookathon were than I only bought 12 small tart molds but the dough made 16, so it was two rounds of 40 minute bake times to get the crusts ready. This tart crust is especially tasty (I think it’s the vanilla setting it apart), though, and took less than 2 minutes to put together, so I’ll use it again for a dessert.
Pseudostoops – It’s a good one, I agree. Most tart doughs have one egg or 1-2 yolks in them, so I had an extra on hand just in case I needed it, which I did. Thanks for the welcome!
Amelia – Welcome! I’m very excited about the new format, too.
Abby – I think, and I could be wrong, lemon curd tarts are a really classic French dessert pastry. I’ve always wanted to make them, but somehow, this idea got under my skin first. You know what else I want to try? Pink grapefruit curd tarts. Though, most people I’ve mentioned them to make a face like they’d be too “weird.”
Mary – Thank you. You know, I always thought that entry was like the worst thing I’d ever written and it’s comments like yours that totally make my day. We’re not going to let this blog make either of us fat, so I’m going to be balancing desserts with soups and salads, just like we eat. Oh, and dumping the pastries on my coworkers, leaving just one or two at home.
I think we have opposite ends of the same afflicition… must be something about living in teeny tiny apartments. I combat my feelings of smooshedness by making HUGE vats of food! Like, a gallon of green chili, batches upon batches of pickles and sauces, etc. There’s no way me and my boyfriend can eat it all, and there’s really no way we can even store it, but… I. Just. Must. Do. It! weird…
beautiful tarts btw!
So I recently made my first key lime pie a couple weeks ago, and rather than juice dozens of key limes, I just bought key lime juice. For this recipe you say to juice limes until you have 1/2 cup juice and add the zest of 4 limes. How do I compensate for not having lime zest?
Those loaf pans! Gorgeous. You’re a patient woman, but the effort looks like it was worth it.
Deb, I followed you from ivillage. I too am a newlywed and a little obsessed with food, and reading about food, and talking about food (and perusing recipes online, and thinking about food shopping) . However, I have a 5 month old, and his level of patience does not allow me to spend the time in the kitchen as I would like to. So I will continue to visit your site often. PS– its a little pedestrian, but I feel about my crockpot the way you feel about your Cocotte!
These look absolutely fantastic – and I completely understand your miniatures addiction! I’m slowly building up my collection of mini loaf tins, tart moulds, cake tins etc :P
hi deb!
yes, ini-mini stuff can be so attractive and cute! =)
a shame of missing those L&O episodes, I love L&O…but checking your pictures, I think in the end it was all worth it, right? =)
great read + recipe…will definitely come back later for new posts!
and perhaps more delicious mini-creations??
I do so love little things, they reflect such care and effort. I won’t be putting any of these in any of my pockets unless you can consider my mouth a pocket! Beautiful and perfect for a party on the terrace!
why do they have you bake the beans or rice in the crust? does that ensure it doesn’t crack or something? should you do that for alot of home made crusts, like when making something along the lines of a pot pie?
I’ve been quietly reading your blog for a while but haven’t commented before–I love following your culinary adventures! You’re lucky that someone else will do the dishes–I would cook alot more except for that. There are four people in my family, and we make alot of dishes (no dishwasher besides me). After spending alot of time and effort making something, and then all the time and effort to clean up afterwards, well, compared to the amount of time spent actually eating, it doesn’t seem worth it. So I guess I’ll just live vicariously through you. thanks!!
SO, SO happy that you started this site.
As a longtime reader, I find your daily musings hilarious – but absoultely LOVE how you photograph and talk about food.
It’s amazing.
And you have such a talent.
Ann – I don’t know who I am kidding, but the miniature baked goods are really only an excuse to not feel guilty about eating something so insignificant. It does the trick, though. One time, I brought both full-sized and miniature cupcakes to a party and all 90 of the minis were gone at the end of the night and not one of the big ones.
Dana – I’ve always wondered how foodies balance having kids and wanting to engage in obsessive kitchen pursuits. More frightening, what if we end up with kids with no interest in the epicurean? Ah, well, I’ve got a good chicken nugget recipe, I guess we’ll work it out.
Ellie – Have you seen these? I feel my resistance weakening…
Julia – Something about L&O SVU, though, even when I watch it, I’m always at odds with myself for it. What’s wrong with me that I’d find such upsetting situations entertainment? Then I convince myself I’m not *really* watching it because I’m actually in the kitchen baking, no sneaking peaks at all.
Me7c7v – The beans weight down the crust while you bake it empty so that it doesn’t puff up. It’s not necessary for pies, because you bake the fruit inside the raw crust, so it doesn’t buckle. You can use anything to weight it – dried beans, rice and or purchased ceramic pie weights.
We have no dishwasher either (besides my husband, heh, who is sick of this joke) and it’s exhausting. But, I still prefer endless sinkfuls of dishes over take-out and bakery dessert – well, most days.
Browneyedgirlie – Thank you.
hehehe…you said curd.
I’ve been around since close to the beginning so there’s no reason to stop now. Good luck with the kitchen, Deb. And for those of you who have never had any of Deb’s homemade goodies…you have missed out.
how cute! Your photos are great. I’m sure they tasted delicious and were so well worth the 4 episodes of SVU you spent baking them.
I just love your blog..and your addiction to miniature desserts – me too! =)
I ate these! They were amazing!
yum
Deb
The BF and I went here tonight for dinner. We just rolled in.. and i mean ROLLED.. holy cow. We did the “chefs tasting menu”.. 9 courses. o-m-g.
If you ever make it out to Napa Valley, you MUST check it out!
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/tfl/tflmenu.htm
wow. i am new to your site (brand new, in fact) and am in love. those tartlets look divine!!! i made mini fruit tartlets a few months ago for a summer cookout and they were almost too cute to serve up. delicious though! plus you can’t beat built in portion control (not that eating 9 tartlets should make me feel better than eating one piece of regular tart!) but still! :-)
Howard – Braggart! But, yes, from time to time, I pay off sources for my day job with baked goods. Journalistic integrity is totally overrated.
Jaay – Thank you.
Jocelyn gets to eat all my baked goods, or at least most of them. I’m actually not allowed to come over to her parties unless I bake. The things I do to make friends…
Re: Cupcakes. Alex, you hear that? There’s a restaurant in Napa called the French Laundry and it’s supposed to be really, really good. Wanna go?
Sarah – It’s so funny because these mini-tarts are even on the large size compared to what we’d see in Paris. But for Americans, total portion control.
These look simply delicious!
This might be gilding the lily, but would a teaspoon of whipped cream be a nice extra touch to the mini-tarts?
…I’m pretty sure these shouldn’t be called Key Lime Tarts if they don’t have Key Lime juice in them, and are green (not yellow, like proper key lime pie)! But what do I know?
The green color comes from the zest. Both regular and key limes are green. Both of their juices are more of a yellow color.
deb,
i share your obsession for small cute things. my disease started with mini bundt cake pans, then progressed to mini springform pans. don’t fight it. they all may laugh, but they’re the first ones in line at dessert!
taiyyaba
This is a wonderful recipe and I thank you for it. We had tarts this week in school and we to bring in our own recipes to use. Luckly I found this one and everyone raved about it. I have leftover curd and I plan to make some more this week. Thanks again!!
Fabulous recipe, but I think you should mention it’s not “true” key lime pie! I bought a bag of key limes at the market last weekend (a rare occurance here in Ontario, Canada) and found your site by searching for a recipe for key lime pie/tarts that didn’t use sweetened condensed milk. I ended up having to zest & squeeze sixteen key limes to get half a cup of juice ;) Next time I will buy regular limes.
Also, if anyone is looking for a tip on how to squeeze the juice out of all of those tiny little key limes – use a garlic press – half a lime is just the right size (of course I only got this stroke of inspiration at the twelfth lime).
And finally, when I poured the lime juice in, my butter curdled. It became a disgusting sludgy mess. But once in the saucepan, I just whisked it for a bit and good as new.
The curd is on the stove now…I’ll let you know how they turn out for me :D
So they’re awesome – but whoa, too tart for me! I need a dollop of whipped cream on top. My fiance loves them though (he loves all things sour).
Fantastic recipe! I made it for my lime-loving boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. We love interesting desserts that aren’t too sweet, and this was perfect.
Could you please let me know how long you baked the little tart shells for? I am making lemon tartlets that are about 2 inches in diameter and I have no idea for how long I should prebake the little shells.
It was almost three years ago — I do not remember. However, usually 10 minutes works on minis. You’re looking for it to be just a little golden. You should use it’s appearance, and not the baking time, as a guide as ovens can widely vary.
Thank you! I’m making little versions of your whole lemon tart for this weekend’s brunch. Fingers crossed they are a success!
Nice blog – found you from ButterSugarFlour. Will definitely be back :)
Hi Deb,
Congrats on the baby, saw you on t.v.!
I have made this recipe twice. The first time with limes and the second with key limes.
Both recipes did not thicken in the specified time and cooked longer. They both set more like, sour cream (when its at room temp). I have no idea how it was supposed to ‘set.’
I did use cold eggs, maybe that is why…
For the second time around, I took some of the hot mixture and added some cornstarch to thicken it, it helped … some.
The flavor was good on both tarts.
I have also made your whole-lemon tart, it was great! Cooked longer since we had a full oven on Fathers Day.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THIS SITE! LOVE IT!
THIS IS MY FIRST POST EVER, I MEAN EVER! YAY!`~
PS
I plan to try to blueberry boy bait, AND the blueberry crumb bars, yum…
Hi Deb-
I bought some very cute little key limes at the market a few days ago and was wondering how much zest you should yield from your limes for this recipe. Since mine are so small (golf ball size or smaller), I wasn’t sure if 4 limes worth of zest would be enough.
Also, do you think it would be possible to make these even smaller- say, mini cupcake size? I don’t have the tartlet pans, (but like the idea of tiny desserts as well) and I have a pecan tart recipe that I make in the mini cupcake size. I imagine the crust is relatively fragile for this, though, so I’m skeptical about being able to actually remove them from the pan. haha If not, I will probably just go with Ina’s suggested size.
I love your site- the recipes are just my taste/style. Can’t wait to make this tart!
I just saw your site, those key lime tarts look quite yummy. gonna try to get the wife to bake me some of those. Wish me luck! I’ve been reading on the internet about, I think it was called, the world’s greatest key lime pies at a place I think is called “Kutcharitaville Cafe”. I read, that Nitty Kutchie Pelaez is the one that makes those famous key lime pies. I believe that they might have been called, “The Mighty Diamond Key Lime Pie”. Not sure though, I guess that I need to do some more research about them. My whole family really loves key lime pie, it is very hard, or I should say “imposable” to get true key lime pie here in Calf. Maybe we should plan a trip and go visit Key West sometime. Does Nitty Kutchie Pelaez really live in Key West or is that just the location of “Kutcharitaville Cafe”? Any help would be more that appreciated.
thanks so much,…..Willie Brown
I’m trying to make a graham version of the tart shells– should I substitute crushed graham crackers for the flour, or combine them with flour? Or something else entirely?
You can use the same graham crust you see here.
Whoa, are key limes really green? I thought what we here in California call Mexican Limes are the same as Key Limes and ours (we have a killer tree out front) are small, tart and yellow when ripe and much tastier than Bearrs limes (those large green and way too sweet things). Perfect for gin and tonics, mojitos and BC’s key lime tart! (Just had one this week!) Anyone know about Mexican Limes?
The curd smells so delicious. Our whole kitchen smells of lime!
which mini tart molds would you recommend? I was looking on amazon and the Wilton set looks like the sides are more perpendicular where I want something with a sharper angle like yours. HELP!
Actually, these were mini-brioche molds, if that helps you find them at a store. I hadn’t realized this at the time. The mini-tart pans, however, especially with removable bottoms, are more useful. These are more like cups.
Thank’s to you for that receipe ;o)
I changed the crust for the graham one, added a “spoutch” of unsweet whipped cream and lime pulp that looks like caviar for decoration :o)
it’s been a great success!!
What do you think about this key lime curd filling a vanilla butter cake for a wedding in July? I am going to attempt to frost with your swiss buttercream also. Why do I think I can make a wedding cake? I have had so much luck with your other recipes that it might be giving me false confidence!
Mary — I’m no wedding cake expert — I just made the one — but should warn that curds make for difficult wedding cake fillings (they’re soft) unless you set them with enough gelatin to firm it up a bit, so it doesn’t squeeze out.
Just made this with key lime juice and it was fantastic! Results are on my blog.
Can I make thsi with your pie crust 102 recipe rather than this tart crust and instead of prebaking the shell with the beads, can I press dough in tart pan and fill with curd then bake till curd is set?
I know what you mean about tartlets and small baked goods….they’re so cute they trick you into forgetting they’re incredibly tedious to make! But yes..totally worth it!
I used your filling recipe for some regular big key lime tarts (’cause I was too lazy to make small ones). They turned out great!
http://petitedecadence.com/2012/03/30/work-for-it-key-lime-pie/
I share you obsession with tiny foods (though I have to learn to choose my audience–friend’s bridal shower? Well received. Super Bowl party, including my dad and my brother? Not so much. And here I thought sliders would be a big hit…). The shower included mini spinach bread bowls, grilled cheese in a tomato soup shot, and, because cupcakes aren’t a small enough version of cake, mini-white cupcakes with four different flavors of icing (who wants to stop at one and make it easy?): vanilla buttercream, orange buttercream, maple buttercream (the combination tasted like pancakes!), and chocolate ganache.
Hi!
I was wondering if I could make this just as a regular pie? Your filling sounds AMAZING. Also, I am living in Costa Rica right now. Will the recipe be ruined without specifically key limes?
Muchas gracias!
Sara — I definitely think so. But don’t bake it. Curd doesn’t need to be baked.
Should these be made with specifically key limes or would normal limes work? I’m just wondering about quantities since key limes seem to be smaller…
Have you heard of tassies? They’re like miniature tarts, only with an awesome name.
Hi Deb,
I was looking for a key lime curd for a cupcake filling and checked your site first! Do you think this would work well?
Thanks,Cindy
Nice blog – found you from ButterSugarFlour. Will definitely be back :)
I didn’t realize this was one of the first recipes when you converted to a cooking blog! I make the curd all the time and just dollop it on things – it is so tasty! I just wanted to say that I made it again last night using vegan butter for a friend who is dairy free. It turned out perfectly.
Excellent recipe! I too found the crust to be *very* crumbly (I did not add an egg), but simply spent time mending cracks while putting the dough into the pans. I made 4″ mini tarts which yielded about 6 4″ tarts (w/ curd to spare– great in yogurt!).
Question regarding the curd– can I make this with other citrus simply by swapping the lime juice/lime zest with equal parts from another fruit? For example, blood oranges? (seeing as we are on the tail end of that season) What about the next logical citrus, lemon? Just curious. There are of course recipes out there for other citrus curds, but this recipe is so doable/simple, and I’d love to adapt it if at all possible.
Thanks!
Absolutely. The biggest thing with swapping citrus is impact: orange juice will have less flavor in the same quantity as lime juice, but it’s really all about the zest so don’t skimp on it.
Would this work with a no-bake graham cracker crust? It’s just too hot to turn on the oven now.
You are such a bright spot amid this pandemic. Love your recipes. Thank you!
So did you keep the mini tart pans, or get rid of them eventually?
I can just tell that this is going to be one of my favourite recipes! Pastry and curd!
For me, it’s all about the proportion of pasty to filling. I love the pastry as much as, or more than, filling, so I’ll make this as mini tarts. Zoning out whilst making batches of tart shells is very good for my mental health. :)
Last year I made over 100 tartlets with lemon curd and sugared blueberries for my daughter’s wedding. What I loved was that, except for the blueberries, they freeze like a dream. Lime curd tartlets in the freezer, 😋
I’m excited to add this to my dessert repertoire, thanks for posting it. ❤️
Love that this recipe uses whole eggs! I recently made buttercream though and froze all of the yolks in the hopes of making a curd soon. Would this work for yolks only? What ratio?
Could you substitute lemons for this recipe and make it a lemon curd tart?
Yes. I haven’t done it here so the flavor isn’t, like, optimized for lemons, but I think you’ll be happy with it.
How did you remove the completed tart from the pan?
Most tart pans have removable bottoms. If yours does not, you might use a cake pan and line it with a sling of parchment for easy removal.
Citrusy deliciousness! Also per your 2020 update, for bakers in England, I made this with the graham cracker crust and our trusty British substitution of digestive biscuits worked a treat
I’m excited to make this!
A quick question, though – I find most desserts too sweet and generally cut down sugar in recipes by around a third. Would I be able to do less than the full 1.5 cups in the curd, or would it never really ‘set’?
I haven’t tried a lower-sugar curd, so I cannot say for sure. Most of the structure comes from the eggs, however, so you might be okay.
I ended up making it with 2/3 of the sugar written, and after tasting the uncooked curd mixture (before adding the eggs, of course) I still found it a touch too sweet, so I added another squeeze of juice and it was perfect.
This is my first time making any kind of curd, and it came out fabulously, Thank you!!
Great recipe and easy to make. I cut the sugar for the filling down to 1 cup and it was still super sweet. I think I’ll go with just 1/2 cup of sugar next time. Otherwise really good. Thanks, Deb!
I, too, thought it was too sweet – especially since I made it with the graham crust, and topped it with blueberries swirled in raspberry jam. I wasn’t sure if we would finish eating it – that’s how sweet it was. But the second night, we tried it with whipped cream, and it was perfect! The whipped cream should be a requirement, not a serving suggestion.
we used an almond flour crust which worked well. We didn’t have success in getting the curd to set…should we be adding a little arrowroot pwd or cornstarch for thickening? Otherwise the flavour was amazing! Yum!
I follow you on Instagram and occasionally make the recipes you post (all of which have been really successful and yum!). So, I made this lime curd tart, and after whizzing the curd ingredients in the food processor it looked curdled, and I was dubious. However once you start cooking it, it relaxes in to this delicious velvety and tasty curd! I used the pastry recipe from your salted peanut tart as you mentioned in the recipe. So good! Thank you.
hi deb! i love citrus desserts! i plan to make this in the graham crust you suggested above. i don’t have a tart pan though — how would a glass pyrex baking dish do? would a metal baking pan or a ceramic baking dish be better?
Any of the above would work. I find metal to have sharper edges. You could also use a cake pan and fit a parchment “sling” inside (pieces in two directions and up the sides) for easy removal.
Just to give you a hintch when making lemon or orange curd, I usually squeeze the fruit before I grate, that way, have that delicious lemon or orange flavour with the juice and I grate the peel with the fingers inside the “shell” and its easy to control the white part.
Everything was going along so well, until I dropped the tart pan and the pie fell out (pre-curd) & it broke into a ton of pieces. womp womp.. So.. we ate the pie shell as cookies (Delicious! 4/4 would definitely recommend as an intact pie crust or a cookie recipe, as it was way better than any butter cookie recipe I’ve had in a long time) & we made margaritas out of the lime zest & juice. ‘Cuz you know what they say… when covid life gives you limes (& broken crust), make margaritas :)
My curd mixture seemed curdled when I mixed it in the food processor, any idea why?
Maybe the cold butter needed to blend longer?
This recipe was a rare clunker for us. Deb is a kitchen goddess in our house, but this one missed the mark. I did use a graham cracker crust but the crust was not the issue. The lime flavor was too intense even for my son who loves citrus and these types of desserts. The zest from 4 limes was too much. We gave a chunk away and most of the remainder went uneaten. I only managed a forkful or two total.
How did you zest your limes? Peeler or microplane rasp?
This was so good. I made my crust from crushed leftover coconut cookie thins that just took it over the top. Next time will cut back a little on the sugar for the filling, but this was perfect with some freshly whipped cream.
Hi Deb! I want to make this, but don’t have a pie tart pan! Any other suggestions? Thanks so much
Made a few modifications based on what I read in previous reviews. Used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 1/2 and sweetness level was perfect. I zested three limes instead of four, perfect lime level for me & I’m a lime lover. I used mini tart pans and it made 6, and I used debs Graham cracker crust recipe instead or tart shell and it was delicious! Baked the tarts 5 minutes instead of 10 due to size difference. Will definitely be making again!
Do you think Coconut sugar would work with this recipe?
wondering. if I could make a short-bread. instead of a pasterie bottom???
Thanks,
Lyn
I made this yesterday. I made the graham cracker crust, as suggested. Thickening time on my stove took closer to 20 minutes. I refrigerated for 4 hours, and squares were soooo goopy. Delicious but goopy. Not sure if I should have refrigerated longer or thickened longer, or both?
I know this is an older recipe, but it’s new to me and after seeing it pop up on your Instagram links this week I NEEDED to try it. I used Dorie Greenspan’s pate sucree recipe, but made the curd exactly as written and it was so, so good – perfectly sweet and tart and incredibly smooth.
This looks delicious but……I baulk at recipes with ingredients not specified by weight. Can I suggest a more international approach for your recipes eg. 3/4 cup butter / 170g / 6 ounces? It is so much easier to weigh ingredients.
Weights now added!
Making this using 6 – 4inch tart pans and a graham cracker crust-too cute. The lime curd is taking MUCH longer than 10 minutes to thicken however thank you for providing a temperature for reference. May also have to strain the filing as the lime peel (not the zest) never got very chopped up in the food processor but still a lovely recipe and another SK keeper.
Hi there! Quick question about the sugar! In the tart it says 100 grams is about 1/2 cup but then below in the filling it says 150 grams is 1 1/2 cups. I would love some clarification and I usually weigh my ingredients. Thank you!
Whoops — sorry about that. 1 1/2 cups is 300 grams. I’ll edit it now.
This tart is delicious!! My family loved it! I did use the thinner crust mentioned from the peanut tart. It was perfect, just the right ratio of crust to curd. The lime curd is amazing! I will certainly make this again!
One more comment. As I read through the notes from other bakers I noticed that the cooking time for the curd was longer than 10 minutes for many. My curd also took about 17 minutes to thicken but did turn out beautifully.
I made these for Pi Day and they were delicious! I used four limes, and more like 1 generous cup of sugar instead of 1.5, and I made a graham cracker crust rather than make pastry. Absolutely lovely! Only minor hitch is that my curd didn’t set up as nicely as yours did, Deb, despite hitting 180 after 12 minutes of gentle heat and having two hours to chill before cutting. Any thoughts on whether longer thickening or longer chilling would better help achieve more cuttable bars?
This was delicious. I agree with other commenters who say the whipped cream should be a requirement not a suggestion — it balances out the sweetness and the tang perfectly. I made the original crust recipe and loved it, it was a bit like shortbread. I used an instant read thermometer to check the temperature when I was heating the filling, but have to say the filling did thicken up pretty clearly around 8 minutes in, and it took about 2 hours to set. Thanks for this wonderful recipe Deb!
You have got to use David Lebovitz’s tart shell recipe. It is so unbelievably easy, you won’t make old style tart shells again.
Having a similiar issue with the folks who are finding their curd looser than pictured in the post. I also found it took closer to 30-40 minutes to get my curd to the right temperature, perhaps I could’ve gradually gone a hotter on the heat.
This was so delicious as a holiday dessert. As you suggested in the 2020 headnote, I used the shell from the peanut tart (except I baked it according to the times in this recipe – 20 with foil, 10 without, since it wasn’t going back into the oven). I used only 35 g of powdered sugar in the tart shell. I didn’t want this to be too sweet so I used 5 limes and 1/2 c (100 g) of sugar in the filling. Delicious! (And thickened well after about 5-7 minutes with a full set in the fridge.)
yesterday i made dorie greenspan’s curd (i made mine with meyer lemons and
blood oranges) and i wanted to share her process, especially because deb is always looking for less bowls and equipment. dorie uses a whisk instead of a food processor, smushing the sugar and zest right in the pot, whisking in the eggs, juice, cubed butter and then continuing to whisk over medium heat for about 8 minutes. can’t wait to make a tart!
Could I do this using passion fruit juice and lime zest? Do you think that would make a good combination?
Can you make this lime curd tart with a graham cracker crust?
Yes, but I’d parbake it a little so it sets up well.
would love the square tart pan. what size and who is mfg? does it have removable bottom?
Yes removable bottom. I have this one (but I’m not sure why the reviews are iffy; mine is great).
Please do NOT process the sugar and lime zest in the food processor. It completely ruined mine. The sugar finely scratched all three parts, but mainly the bowl and lid. It ended up looking like frosted glass. I ended up having to get new replacement parts, as none of the remedies i found online worked.