I maintain an electronic file to track people's baked goods preferences; whenever one of my regular tasters mentions an affinity for a specific type of dessert or a particular flavor, I make a note of it. I also record allergies and food aversions. That way, when we celebrate a birthday, retirement, new baby, or whatever, I have some idea what to make for the honoree. Recently, we observed a birthday for someone whose entry in my file consists of only three words: "Key Lime Pie." The birthday girl already tasted the Key lime pie I brought to the office a few months ago, so I wanted to try something different. I decided to try the recipe for "Sunrise Key Lime Tarts" from Baked Elements.
This recipe has a couple of distinctive features. First, the tarts have a pretzel crust instead of the traditional graham cracker crust. Second, the filling includes both tequila and triple sec (those boys from Baked do seem to enjoy booze in their baked goods!).
To make the pretzel crust, you melt butter, whisk in dark brown sugar, and stir in ground pretzel sticks. My mixture was a bit dry (I don't know why I didn't just add more melted butter), so it was a bit of a chore pressing it into tart pans. I used both fluted tart pans with removable bottoms and open tart rings with no bottom. You briefly bake the empty tart shells and then let them cool.
The filling is a mixture of egg yolks, condensed milk, Key lime juice, Key lime zest, tequila, and triple sec (I used bottled Key lime juice and zest from a Persian lime). You combine all of the ingredients together and whisk until slightly thickened, pour the filling into the partially baked pretzel crusts, and then bake the tarts until the filling is set. You cool the baked tarts and refrigerate them.
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You are supposed to garnish the tarts with lightly sweetened whipped cream that includes a bit more lime zest. I had already used up all my lime zest (I misread the recipe and accidentally added too much zest to the filling), so my whipped cream was zestless. The recipe also suggests garnishing with a slice of lime, but since I didn't have any fresh Key limes, I skipped that as well.
I had a heck of a time trying to release the tarts from the fluted tart pans; even though I had lightly oiled the pans as directed, I had some problems with sticking and I ended up breaking off some of the top edges of the crusts. In contrast, the tarts in the tart rings came out with no problem at all (like the one pictured above), so in the future, I would only use rings with this recipe instead of fluted pans.
The pretzel crust is outrageously good. It is crunchy and adds a fabulous salty-sweet component to the dessert. I really don't understand why pretzel crusts have not become more popular (I have recently used pretzel crusts in two other terrific desserts: Strawberry Jell-O Salad and Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Tart). As for the filling, it was creamy and tart -- pretty much a standard Key lime pie filling. I couldn't detect the tequila or Cointreau at all.
One disadvantage to making this dessert in a tart form (as opposed to a pie) is that the crust-to-filling ratio was about 1:1. As much as I loved the crust, I missed the much higher ratio of filling to crust that you get in a traditional Key lime pie, because after all, Key lime pie is all about the creamy-tart lime goodness of the filling. That said, these tarts are refreshing and delicious, and the pretzel crust makes them a standout.
Recipe: "Sunrise Key Lime Tarts" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.
Previous Posts:
This recipe has a couple of distinctive features. First, the tarts have a pretzel crust instead of the traditional graham cracker crust. Second, the filling includes both tequila and triple sec (those boys from Baked do seem to enjoy booze in their baked goods!).
To make the pretzel crust, you melt butter, whisk in dark brown sugar, and stir in ground pretzel sticks. My mixture was a bit dry (I don't know why I didn't just add more melted butter), so it was a bit of a chore pressing it into tart pans. I used both fluted tart pans with removable bottoms and open tart rings with no bottom. You briefly bake the empty tart shells and then let them cool.
The filling is a mixture of egg yolks, condensed milk, Key lime juice, Key lime zest, tequila, and triple sec (I used bottled Key lime juice and zest from a Persian lime). You combine all of the ingredients together and whisk until slightly thickened, pour the filling into the partially baked pretzel crusts, and then bake the tarts until the filling is set. You cool the baked tarts and refrigerate them.
.JPG)
I had a heck of a time trying to release the tarts from the fluted tart pans; even though I had lightly oiled the pans as directed, I had some problems with sticking and I ended up breaking off some of the top edges of the crusts. In contrast, the tarts in the tart rings came out with no problem at all (like the one pictured above), so in the future, I would only use rings with this recipe instead of fluted pans.
The pretzel crust is outrageously good. It is crunchy and adds a fabulous salty-sweet component to the dessert. I really don't understand why pretzel crusts have not become more popular (I have recently used pretzel crusts in two other terrific desserts: Strawberry Jell-O Salad and Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Tart). As for the filling, it was creamy and tart -- pretty much a standard Key lime pie filling. I couldn't detect the tequila or Cointreau at all.
One disadvantage to making this dessert in a tart form (as opposed to a pie) is that the crust-to-filling ratio was about 1:1. As much as I loved the crust, I missed the much higher ratio of filling to crust that you get in a traditional Key lime pie, because after all, Key lime pie is all about the creamy-tart lime goodness of the filling. That said, these tarts are refreshing and delicious, and the pretzel crust makes them a standout.
Recipe: "Sunrise Key Lime Tarts" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.
Previous Posts:
- "Ask and Ye Shall Receive: Key Lime Pie," February 11, 2012.
- "Key Lime Sugar Cookies," August 15, 2008.
Comments
I did a chocolate caramel pie with a caramel crust last year (http://www.porkcracklins.net/2012/05/occupie/), but pooh - I want to try that tart!