EASY SUMMER COCONUT CRUST – LEMON TART

Signs of summer are in the air. Warm weather is clearly on its way back! One of the best desserts of summer that almost anyone can’t refuse is a refreshing Lemon Tart. Here’s an easy one that is almost fail proof and really easy to make!

First, make sure you have a tart pan where the bottom is a separate piece. This makes it extremely easy to lift your tart out of the pan

TART PAN WITH REMOVABLE BOTTOM

after it’s finished. There’s no struggling with getting it out and you leave it right on that bottom piece for serving. The only thing you have to worry about is if you take the tart on that piece to someone else’s house. You have to remember not to forget it! If you want to transfer it to another plate in that case, use a thin pizza peel and easily move it over.

Then make the coconut crust for one 10” tart:

You will need: 2 cups sweetened coconut, ½ cup sugar, 2 egg whites and a small amount of butter. First, process 2 cups of coconut in your food processor with ½ cup sugar (about 2 minutes).  Mix in 2 egg whites.  Lightly butter your tart pan and place it on a cookie sheet to keep it stabilized.  Press coconut mixture into the pan, making sure you don’t have any thick spots – especially around the edges. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees F for about 45 minutes.  The crust should be very lightly browned.  Cool completely

BAKED COCONUT CRUST

When the crust is cool, then make the Lemon Curd Filling:

You will need: 3 eggs, 3 egg yolks, ¾ cup sugar, the Juice (3/4 cup) and zest (1/4 cup) of 4 lemons, 2 packages of Unflavored Gelatin, plus 6 Tablespoons whole butter cut into pieces. Here are the steps:

1. Mix the gelatin with just enough water to cover to “bloom” it.
2. Combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest in a double boiler. Cook to 180⁰F (when color changes, it thickens and it coats a spoon).
3. Remove from heat and stir in bloomed gelatin.
4. Immediately whisk in the butter.
5. When all of the butter is mixed in, pour into a pre-baked shell or short crust and refrigerate for several hours, until it sets up.
6. Just before serving, dust lightly with powdered sugar.  (You can also spritz the sugar with cognac and brown the surface slightly with a torch, but this is optional.)
7. Remove from the edge ring and garnish with your choice of mint, whipped cream and/or fresh berries.

If you have extra filling – or as an alternative – just cool it and mix it with sweetened whipped cream for a really delicious mousse!

You can make the crust alone, cool, wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months. You can also make the whole pie the day before. Just cool and then refrigerate it in a covered container that is tall enough that the top doesn’t touch the filling. In this case, garnish it at the last minute though. Sugar and fruits are humectants, i.e. they absorb moisture and will make your pie look like… well… mush! Enjoy this delicious and handy recipe!