As the final dessert for Muscaday, I decided to make a Tart with Grapefruit Curd and Campari. Because the menu was entirely shellfish and lemon is the natural accompaniment for seafood, I initially thought about making a lemon dessert. But this grapefruit tart from the Los Angeles Times has been on my to-bake list for a while, and I thought it would offer some nice variety alongside the carrot cake and gateau Basque I also was serving.
There is no recipe provided for the crust; the instructions simply specify a tart shell that is fully baked before filling it with the grapefruit curd. I looked through past recipes where I had used a fully cooked shell, and I decided to go with the crust recipe from a cream cheese crostata I recently made. I made the dough and chilled it overnight before rolling it out and baking it.
For the grapefruit curd, you cook eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt, grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, Campari, and butter until the mixture thickens. You pour the hot curd through a sieve and into the crust. You chill the tart until the curd is firm, and then sprinkle on some chopped pistachios before serving.
You can't see it in the photo above, but the curd has a tinge of pinkish hue that reminded me of the color of grapefruit-flavored Jelly Belly. I used a pink grapefruit to make the curd, but the pink color was from the Campari.
I wasn't sure how the Campari would affect the taste -- I'm not a drinker, but Campari is famously bitter and considered by many to be an acquired taste. There's only a teaspoon of Campari in the grapefruit curd, but it transformed the curd to the point where it was hardly recognizable as grapefruit. I'm afraid I can't adequately describe it, but the flavor was slightly herbaceous and lightly citrus-y, and surprisingly, it was mellow and not very tart. The pistachios added a very nice texture and flavor contrast. This tart was refreshing on a hot day, and it held up very well even though I left it on the kitchen counter for a few hours.
This was my favorite dessert of the three I served on Muscaday -- but then again, I've always been a sucker for citrus curd and tarts.
Recipe: "Tart with Grapefruit Curd and Campari" from the February 2, 2012 Los Angeles Times.
There is no recipe provided for the crust; the instructions simply specify a tart shell that is fully baked before filling it with the grapefruit curd. I looked through past recipes where I had used a fully cooked shell, and I decided to go with the crust recipe from a cream cheese crostata I recently made. I made the dough and chilled it overnight before rolling it out and baking it.
For the grapefruit curd, you cook eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt, grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, Campari, and butter until the mixture thickens. You pour the hot curd through a sieve and into the crust. You chill the tart until the curd is firm, and then sprinkle on some chopped pistachios before serving.
I wasn't sure how the Campari would affect the taste -- I'm not a drinker, but Campari is famously bitter and considered by many to be an acquired taste. There's only a teaspoon of Campari in the grapefruit curd, but it transformed the curd to the point where it was hardly recognizable as grapefruit. I'm afraid I can't adequately describe it, but the flavor was slightly herbaceous and lightly citrus-y, and surprisingly, it was mellow and not very tart. The pistachios added a very nice texture and flavor contrast. This tart was refreshing on a hot day, and it held up very well even though I left it on the kitchen counter for a few hours.
This was my favorite dessert of the three I served on Muscaday -- but then again, I've always been a sucker for citrus curd and tarts.
Recipe: "Tart with Grapefruit Curd and Campari" from the February 2, 2012 Los Angeles Times.
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