Lime Basil Tarts

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 4 4 4 egg yolks
• 3 3 3 tbsp butter (45 gr)
• 2 2 juice of 2 limes (50 gr juice, 2 gr zest)
• 5 5 5 basil leaves, chiffonade (5 gr)
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup sugar (55 gr)
• (Whip Cream)
• 1 1 35% cup 35% cream; cold(225 gr)
• 1 1 1 tbsp sugar (15 gr)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp vanilla (1 gr)
• (Pâte Sucrée – Tart Shell Dough)
• 12-inch; 9-inch; 4 15 2 20 six 4 inch tarts/ prep: 15 min / chill: 2 hr/ bake: 20 min]
• 1 1 2 cup butter (250 gr; 2 sticks)
• 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 cup pastry flour (180 gr)
• 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 cup all purpose flour (180 gr)
• 2/3 2/3 2/3 cup sugar (125 gr)
• 1 1 1 large egg (~55 gr)
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp vanilla (4 gr)
• + tart pans
• + rolling pin
• + plastic wrap
• Directions:
• 1 1. 1. Using the paddle attachment, lightly cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in mixing bowl.
• 2 2. to Scrape down sides and add egg and mix until combined. Sift flours together, and add to the mixture just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
• Baking:
• to 375′F. to 375′F.
• 1 1. to Mold your pastry into your tart pan and refrigerate– refrigerating the dough prior to baking guards against excessive shrinking during baking.
• 2 2. to Using a fork, gently prick the bottom of the dough. Be careful not to fully puncture the dough or else any fillings might leak through.
• 4 4. 8-10 to 3-5 8-10 minutes. Remove the shells from the oven, allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and remove the parchment paper and beans.
• 5 5. 3/4 to 3-4 to to for 3/4 baked tart shells, return to the oven for 3-4 minutes to dry out the base. For fully baked, return to the oven until golden brown (8-10 minutes)

Preparation

Step 1

Lime Basil Mousseline Filling:
1. Prepare an ice-water bath, and set aside. In a heat proof (stainless steel, or glass) bowl, whisk together egg yolks, lime juice, lime zest, and sugar. Place over a double-boiler, and whisk gently until the mixture thickens (approx. 10 min).

2. Remove bowl from the double boiler, and place in the ice-water bath for 30 seconds. Whisk until cool to touch. Fold in the basil.

* Chiffonade is a cutting technique where herbs (or other leafy vegetables) are cut into thin strips, or ‘ribbons’. To simplest way to accomplish this, is to stack your herb (basil in this case) leaves, tightly rolling them together, and slice with a sharp knife.

3. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd, and refrigerate until completely cold. The reason why you place the plastic wrap directly on the surface is to prevent a skin from forming on the curd– if a skin develops, you’ll have an uneven texture.

4. While you’re curd is cooling, you can prepare the tart shells. This recipe calls for fully baked shells, because the curd is already cooked, and doesn’t need to return to the oven. Instructions and recipe for tart shell dough can be found here — allow the shells to fully cool down before filling them.

5. Whisk, or beat whip cream and sugar until semi-firm peaks until semi-hard peaks form. To get a better volume from your cream, whisk in a cold stainless steel bowl; generally, aged whip cream builds better volume.

6. Fold the whip cream into the chilled curd until smooth. Be careful not to over mix, or else you’ll deflate the whip cream, and lose the mouselline texture.

7. Pipe the mouselline curd into the shells, and garnish. Refrigerate for ~30 minutes before serving. The tarts need to be stored in the fridge, and will hold for 2 days in an airtight container.