DESSERTS

CHOCOLATE BUCKWHEAT LIME CURD TART…Fresh & Exciting

“When life gives you lemons, find someone who’s life gives them vodka. Then party.”

lemon+curd+tart

There is an old lady who lives nearby, one of the kindest souls around, who is very fond of me. She makes it a point to stop by our home on her morning walks, at least twice a week, to make sure all is well with me. Constantly spoiling me with sweets & chocolates, this time she sent me a bag of limes off her lime tree. I love anything & everything citrus, & I was overjoyed! The basket of limes sang to me & then, along came Judy twittering about lemon curd!!lemon+curd2

It’s been my first go at lemon curd (lime as in my case). I’ve drooled over Meeta @ WFLH ‘s fresh homemade lemon curd for long enough. It’s enticing & refreshing, as her posts always are, but have never had the courage to make it because of the ‘egg’ issues that I have. Egg yolk & me are not good friends, & I tend to associate eggy aromas with anything that uses egg yolk.lemon+curdBeing a Daring Baker has made me use egg yolks more often than I would otherwise, & frankly, this has been a turning point in my baking obsession. I’ve yet to wander into eggy ice-creams which are equally tempting, but the Bavarian cream I did here made me change my eggy-huliar feelings to quite an extent. I gingerly tried a little bit & found that there was nothing too eggy there. Was twittering with Judy @ No Fear Entertaining the other day, exchanging notes on summer vacations, kids, beaches & food of course. She mentioned she had just made lemon curd off Meeta’s recipe & it was delish. She was thoroughly cross-twittered to make sure eggy aromas didn’t feature in the curd, & I was sold on the idea. I made fresh lime curd the next morning thanks to my haul of fresh limes…lime+curd1

Fresh Homemade Lime Curd
as adapted from What’s For Lunch Honey
Ingredients
8-10 limes, zest & juice (increase lime juice if you think it isn’t tart enough.Meeta used 4 lemons)
100g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 eggs, beaten
450g fine granulated sugar lime+curd2Method

  • Set a fine strainer over a medium bowl, then set aside.
  • In a medium sized saucepan whisk together the juice, zest, sugar and eggs until incorporated and the sugar has dissolved.
  • Place the saucepan over medium heat and gently cook the mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, until steaming. Make sure the curd does not boil. Stir frequently and continue to cook until the curd has thickened and the curd coats the back of the wooden spoon – approx 3-7 minutes.
  • Take the curd off the heat and then add the butter, stirring to incorporate it to the curd. Pour the curd mixture through the prepared strainer to make sure there are no lumps in the lemon curd.
  • Pour into warm sterile jars , cover and seal. Allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate.

Collages106With rich curd on hand, could dessert be far away? So much lime curd needed a destination. Thought I’d put it into an ice-cream as Judy had made, but currently suffer from freezer overload. Next thought ‘lemon shortbread bars’. One thing led to another, & I finally thought ‘TART’. lemon+curd+tart1How would ‘tart and rich’ fresh lime curd taste in a nice tart? LOL, pretty much talking to myself, I set off to make a regular plain tart, & then found my bag of buckwheat next to plain flour. A combination of random ingredients later, I ended up with a nice, crisp tart shell, inaugurating the flan/tart pan my sis had just got for me! The result was a nice dessert which we enjoyed with unsweetend whipped cream. INDULGENT!!13Am sending this picture off to Jugalbandi for CLICK: July 2009. (Bi-Colour)
BUCKWHEAT CHOCOLATE TART SHELL
Ingredients:
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3T cocoa
3T vanilla sugar
2/3 stick (75gms)cold butter, cut into pieces (or grated)
1/8 cup olive oil
lemon+curd+tart2Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Place the flours, baking soda, cocoa & vanilla sugar in food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds.
  • Add in chilled butter (I like to grate frozen butter directly into the processor), and pulse till the mixture forms breadcrumbs.
  • Add in the olive oil & process for a further 30seconds till it all comes together in clumps. Put into a bowl & gather into a ball of dough. Do not knead.
  • Take a loose bottom tart/flan tin, & spread the dough around evenly with your fingers to cover the bottom & sides. (You could even chill the dough for 30 minutes & roll it out I think).
  • Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes. Cool in tart pan for 30 minutes.
  • To finish:
  • Cover the baked tart shell with the lime curd, sprinkle flaked almonds if you like, & bake at 180C for 30 minutes/until you can see the curd beginning to set. Lightly top with a sheet of foil if beginning to brown too fast.
  • Cool completely on rack & chill for 6-8 hours. Slice & serve with unsweetened whipped cream. 12

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

65 Comments

  • Nachiketa

    "When life gives you lemons, find someone who's life gives them vodka. Then party."

    Thanks deeba…. ure the best….. 🙂

    So whose got some Vodka for me???? or maybe we can make *frozen Margarita* with them…….

  • Tangled Noodle

    You make the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen! I've only ever had buckwheat in pancakes but would love to taste it in a pastry. All those lovely limes make me crave something tart and refreshing, if not creamy and sweet!

  • Barbara Bakes

    What a wonderful friend you have! I wish I lived somewhere that we could grow lime trees! The tart looks lovely!

  • Judy@nofearentertaining

    Looks so pretty! My girls just saw it and want it so guess what I am making tomorrow!

  • Elle

    It's gorgeous! Your photos *always* make me hungry, even if I'm not! I love that the curd doesn't use any eggs, and that the crust uses buckwheat! Very nice!

  • coffeegrounded

    Deeba, this dessert is a beauty. Chocolate and buckwheat? I love buckwheat, but haven't eaten it in years. After reading this recipe, I'm finding me some.

    🙂

  • Snooky doodle

    this tart looks awesome ! I love lemon curd and this variation with lime must be just as delicious! the crust recipe is really interesting 🙂

  • Michelle

    Buckwheat chocolate crust…OH MY, my husband will love you! Can't wait to try this!

    Fab photos…just gorgeous! Love the almonds too such a gorgeous touch!

  • ARUNA

    OMG i think u should change ur blog name as Temptations too!!!!
    Looks great Deeba, mouth-watering!

  • Manggy

    Hahaha. I was thinking, your egg phobia really makes little sense, as you eat a ton of egg yolks a week. It really does NOT retain much of its original character after it has had sugar beaten into it. I think it's time to let go.. And celebrate with this delicious tart, yes?

  • MeetaK

    a fantastic looking tart deeba. and i love the lemon, vodka and party quote. i think we should get together and party soon!

  • Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes]

    Oooh this looks delicious! I've been looking for a good recipe for lemon curd, this seems to be THE ONE 🙂 Love your pictures 🙂

  • Miakoda

    I love the play of colors, with the bright yellow curd and the dark tart shell…. I bow to all things citrus!

  • bluespriite

    My god.. it's a stunning combination and makes me want to buy up expensive lemons, and make this. You and your blog really inspires me to try my hand at experimenting.

  • Rosa's Yummy Yums

    What a gorgeous tart! I love that combination! Now, I'm drooling…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • Shari@Whisk: a food blog

    I love the quote! Your tart looks magnificent! Beautiful job! And what could be better than limes fresh from the tree!

  • lisaiscooking

    It's such a beautiful tart! The lime curd looks so great in the dark crust, and it sounds just delicious.

  • Gera @ SweetsFoods

    Deeba have you studied for Pastry Chef? Your sweet creations are wonderful in taste and colors, the dark of the chocolate with the lemony of the lime, just gorgeous 🙂

    Cheers!

    Gera

  • Curry Leaf

    WOW,Lovely Tart.The combo is very innovative.I too have seen Meeta's lemoncurd and have been postponing it.The tart is GORGEOUS

  • Elenka

    First time I've ever heard of Buckwheat crust. It looks wonderful. I've also never made a lemon curd.

  • Vrinda

    Thanx for visiting my blog..U hav an awesome blog with lovely treats..I too lov baking but never tried tart..urs look gorgeous,u r a baking expert…yumm…

  • lauresophie

    What a tart! I am drooling, lemon pie are among myfavorite dessert! yours seems so so so GOOD!

  • Room design studio

    Once Again… I put my hands together for such a creative , lovely , delicious , breautifully presented, artfully chosen colors work of art !

    Deeba are you sure you are using a Point & Shoot? seriosly?

  • Dharm

    Yummy! That looks just fabulous! I like that you made curd without eggs. I've never tried lemon curd myself and dont know if I will since no one here is really a fan… but that tart – AWESOME!

  • Claudia

    I need to get a neighbor with a lime tree immediately! Gorgeous posting – anything with citrus makes me stand up and pay attention.

  • ♥Rosie♥

    I love anything citrus Deeba too, and this tart is fantastic. I bet it has that gorgeous tingling good taste to it.

  • Muneeba

    Wow .. that chocolate buckwheat tart shell looks DIVINE! And once again, kudos on taking the most gorgeous pics 🙂

  • Marta

    I love chocolate and lemons, the tart and the sweet are an awesome pairing! This tart looks like it could be served at the fanciest bistro! Great job Deeba!

  • Dharm

    LOL! I AM getting old! I read the 'no eggy aromas' to mean no eggs were used.. I also missed out the 4 eggs in the recipe!! SIlly Me! Here I was wondering how it was a curd if there were no eggs in it.. wouldnt it just be lime butter?!! DUH!

  • Nicisme

    Nothing like fresh home-made lime curd eh??
    Looks really fab for summer, one of those dishes you want to face plant into, lol!

  • Steph

    It looks yummy! I love how you played around with the crust and used buckwheat flour. I used to have an egg yolk fear too, especially after all my attempts of pastry cream turned into scrambled eggs.

  • mimi

    i love that quote!! 🙂

    this looks delicious, love the idea of combining chocolate and citrus, definitely want to try this out!

  • Aparna

    I'm really not a lemon lover (though I love oranges) but this tart looks beautiful. And that buckwheat tart case has me sold.
    You'll be getting a mail from me soon. 🙂

  • zurin

    Beautiful tart. m not too happy about eggs myself. I like them but try to avoid them for health reasons…but this looks good ..I mite just make it cos I like the way the choc crust looks against the yellow curd.

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