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key lime cream tart
And this is really made with key limes. Or at least, I thought they were key limes. That’s what the store said they were. It turns out, they were just mini regular—or Persian—limes with seeds in them. Apparently, key limes are yellow and round—not tiny and green. But I don’t want to talk about that right now. It’s embarrassing.
This is what happened when I thought I was being the ultimate foodie. I found the “key limes” on sale a few weeks ago: ten for a dollar. I had never seen such a good price before, so I grabbed a bag and filled it with thirty lovely limes. I was so proud of myself for owning them, that first I had to photograph them.
And then they sat around for awhile.
They sat around until I had nothing better to do than to juice thirty teeny tiny seeded citrus fruits. While I waited for the royal wedding to start, I buckled down and did it. I would juice about ten at a time, and then the acid would begin to burn so badly I would have to run to the kitchen, wash my hands, lotion them, and watch about a half an hour more of the wedding coverage. When my skin would calm down, I’d go back and juice a few more. I was being a true foodie martyr.
I guess I was expecting some magical Floridian taste to come through as payoff for my self torture, but in the end, I discovered my “key limes” tasted exactly like regular limes. And now I know that’s because they weren’t.
Anyway, you’ll know better. If something claims to be key limes, make sure they’re round and yellow. If you can’t find those, then by all means, buy yourself some regular, large, green limes, and make this. You’ll love it no matter what.
The photos here are from when I made lemon curd awhile back. Just use your imagination and pretend everything is slightly greener.
key lime cream tart
for the crust:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
for the filling:
zest of 4-5 limes
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
juice of 5 limes (about 1/2 cup)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, salt and sugar until smooth. Slowly add in flour and mix until just combined. Mix dough by hand to be sure all ingredients are distributed evenly.
2. Spread dough in the bottom and up the sides of a 9 or 10 inch tart pan, so the dough is about 1/4 thick. Reserve any extra dough for another use. Use a fork to dock the bottom of the dough several times. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until starting to turn golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
3. Clean the mixer bowl and paddle attachment, and then cream together zest, butter, and sugar. Incorporate eggs one at a time and mix until smooth. Add in lime juice and salt. Mixture will be curdled.
2. Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Lime curd will come together and thicken. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat. Strain into a glass bowl and allow to cool. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2-3 hours.
3. In a small bowl, beat heavy cream with the confectioner’s sugar and extracts until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the chilled lime curd. Spread into the tart shell and chill for 3-4 hours.
22 Responses to “key lime cream tart”
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Ah that looks divine. Especially that last picture, sooo pretty!
This looks amazing. Grant is going to be on my case to make one.
Such devotion to your craft! I can only imagine what a pain that must have been to juice.
This reminds me of the time I bought a so called “seedless” water-mellon so much for that deal. I learned a valuable lesson that day never trust stickers or grocery store signs. I can remember the days when you could just go out back and pick a few key-limes off the tree. Now it’s easier to buy the key lime juice and use a few key limes for the zest. I enjoyed how you took limes and made them into a wonderful cream lime tart. Thanks Jaime
)
Sylvie, Hahaha! Yes, I do suffer. Isn’t that what Kramer and the Soup Nazi talk about?
Thank you, Ali, and Tom. Yes, I think I will buy a jar of the key lime juice next time.
And really, I should have known not to trust grocery stores. I mean, if they can’t get their grammar right—”10 items or less”—then why on earth would I trust their labels?
Thanks for your comments, everybody!
We will be making this. We are kind of obsessed with lime at our house!
I hate when stores mislabel things! Great deal anyway, though. This tart looks so tasty!
Thanks, Kaitlin!
Oh, that is hilarious! I also thought key limes just looked like mini-regular limes. Huh.
Yum! I love lime anything–yeah, just buy juice….
This looks so good! Just a quick question though, how big is a ‘stick’ of butter? I buy my butter by the pound and cut off what I need at the time. Thanks…Jill
This looks absolutley divine – beautiful pictures and a beautiful recipe.
have a great day
Mary
I didn’t know key limes looked differen either
This looks amazing, though!! Yum! Key lime pie is one of my favorite things, so I know I will love this!
The tart looks wonderful. I love key lime.
This looks so tasty! I will be making this for the long weekend!
OMG – my hubby would go nuts for this. what a bad wife as I have never made him anything key lime. I better get baking.
If you run into someone who hasn’t made the key lime/regular old lime mistake, THEY ARE LYING.
These photos are delicious!
Thanks, Shauna, and thanks for your key lime understanding!
This looks so heavenly light and refreshing.
Jaime, I used this crust for a strawberry/nutella tart yesterday. It was amazing, all crisp and buttery. Best of all, I have some dough left over in the fridge!
Made this today with bottled key lime juice I got at the liquor store. Divine, smooth and dreamy! Had to use a pie pan because I can’t find the removable bottom for my tart pan O_o. So not as pretty, but still yum. Found this post via Pinterest. Thanks!!