Almond Tart With Stone Fruit And Lime Meringue Recipes

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim.
• In a food processor blend almonds, sugar, and salt until almonds are ground fine. In a bowl toss almond mixture with cookie crumbs and butter until combined well.
• Sprinkle half of crumb mixture onto bottom of pan near rim, pressing evenly up side. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and press evenly over bottom, joining edge. Bake crust in lower third of oven 10 minutes, or until a deeper shade of golden, and cool on a rack.
• Make filling:
• In a heavy saucepan cook sugar, butter, eggs, and lime juice over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately pour curd through a sieve into a bowl. Stir in zest and cool. Filling may be made 1 week ahead and chilled, its surface covered with plastic wrap.
• Spoon filling evenly into crust and cover surface with a buttered round of wax paper. Chill tart, covered, at least 1 hour and up to 24.
• Make compote:
• In a bowl gently toss compote ingredients together and let stand 15 minutes.
• Remove side of tart pan and transfer lime curd tart to a plate. Serve lime curd tart cut into wedges with fruit compote on the side.

Steps:

• Preheat broiler, if using.
• Remove tart shells from tart pans and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Divide lemon curd evenly between tart shells.
• Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop meringue and place on top of lemon curd, dividing equally. Spread meringue out toward the edges of each tart. Place tarts under broiler until meringue is just browned. Alternatively, use a kitchen torch to brown the tops of each tart.
• Sprinkle crushed cookies over the top of each tart. These are best when served within 24 hours.

Steps:

• For Crust:
• Combine 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter and cut in, using fingers or pastry cutter, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat 1 large egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in small bowl until blended. Pour over flour mixture. Stir with fork until mixture forms moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into pan; trim edges. Freeze until very firm, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line frozen crust with aluminum foil. Fill crust with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set on edges, about 12 minutes. Remove beans and foil from crust. Continue baking until crust is golden in center, about 14 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.)
• For Filling:
• Combine 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup dry white wine in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in 3 eggs, 2 large egg yolks and 1 tablespoon grated lime peel. Place 1 tablespoon cornstarch in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 3/4 cup fresh lime juice. Add to mixture in saucepan. Stir over medium-high until mixture comes to boil. Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Cool mixture completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat remaining egg into filling. Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling is set and begins to bubble around edge, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 6 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.)
• For Meringue:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine 1/4 cup water and vanilla bean in heavy small saucepan. Gently simmer until vanilla bean is tender, about 1 minute. Remove vanilla bean from water and split lengthwise. Scrape seeds from bean into water; return bean to water. Add 1/4 cup sugar to water and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until mixture is thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Remove vanilla bean from saucepan.
• Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat 3 large egg whites, in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat mixture until medium peaks form.
• Gradually beat boiling syrup into egg whites. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Using rubber spatula, transfer meringue to pastry bag fitted with large plain or star tip. Pipe meringue atop tart in diagonal lattice design, spacing lines of meringue about 2 inches apart. Bake until meringue is golden brown, about 7 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead; refrigerate uncovered.)
• For Berry Topping:
• Combine 2 tablespoons crème de cassis, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel in small saucepan. Boil mixture until sugar dissolves and mixture is syrupy, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Cool slightly. Place berries in bowl. Pour crème de cassis mixture over. Toss to coat berries. Spoon coated berries decoratively among lattice openings. Garnish tart with mint leaves if desired.

Steps:

• Make the tart dough at least 6 hours before rolling it (preferably longer). Put the flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of the food processor. Process for a few seconds to mix the dry ingredients. Drop the cut-up butter on top of the flour, and pulse the machine in a dozen or more short bursts, until the mixture is crumbly with only small bits of butter visible.
• Pour the egg yolks over the crumbs, and pulse in bursts for about 5 seconds total, to moisten the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of ice water on the dough, and pulse again for a few seconds. The dough should begin to clump together but won't form a solid mass.
• Scrape it all out onto a board; gather and press the clumps into a firm ball. If it's dry and crumbles apart, sprinkle more ice water over the dough and knead gently. When the dough sticks together, flatten it into a disk, wrap well in plastic, and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to a day before rolling; freeze the dough for longer keeping.
• When you're ready to roll the dough and fill the tart, preheat your oven to 350˚, with a rack set in the center. Place a baking stone on the rack if you have one.
• Cut off a third of the dough in a single piece for the lattice top; keep it chilled.
• Place the larger piece of dough between two sheets of parchment, and roll it out to an even round, 11 inches in diameter. Peel off the top sheet of parchment, invert the circle over the tart pan, and peel off the remaining sheet. Press the dough gently down into the pan so it covers the bottom and lines the sides. Trim the edges of the dough round so it is even with the pan rim. With your fingers, form an even wall all the way around. Use scraps of dough to fill cracks or thin spots on the bottom or sides. Put the lined tart pan in the refrigerator.
• Now roll the smaller piece of dough between the parchment sheets to a 10-inch round. Remove the top parchment sheet, and cut the dough in 1-inch-wide strips with a pastry cutter or sharp knife. Leave the strips in place on the parchment sheet, and refrigerate them while you make the filling.
• Put the egg whites with the pinch of salt in the bowl of the electric mixer, and start whisking at medium speed. When the whites are frothy, pour in the sugar gradually, and raise the speed as the whites expand and thicken. When all the sugar has been incorporated, drop in the lemon zest, and continue whipping until the whites are very light, smooth, and glossy. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top, a handful at a time, and fold in gently with a spatula so they are evenly dispersed.
• Take the pastry-lined tart pan and lattice strips from the refrigerator. Scrape the filling into the pastry shell, and spread it evenly.
• To form the lattice top, lay half the strips right over the filling, parallel and spaced about an inch apart. Lay the other strips diagonally across the first set, covering the entire top of the tart in an even pattern-cutting the strips or piecing them together to make different lengths. When they're all arranged, press and pinch the ends of the strips securely into the top rim of dough in the pan.
• Bake the tart-on a stone, if you have one-for about 45 minutes, or until the filling has risen and dried and appears firm and lightly browned in the lattice. The dough strips and rim should be golden brown.
• Cool the tart on a wire rack. When the crust has contracted a bit, slip off the fluted side ring. When it is completely cool, transfer the tart to a serving plate, if you wish, by sliding a long wide spatula (or two spatulas) under the pastry bottom and lifting the tart off the metal disk. Cut it in wedges, and serve.