Monday, August 24, 2009

TWD: Lime Cream Meringue Tarts

For some reason, motivating myself to make these lime meringue tarts was like pulling teeth this week. No, scratch that. Making these tarts was like visiting your tiresome Great Aunt Gladys for the holidays. You don't want to do it, but you feel a great sense of obligation, and you imagine the pangs of guilt that will result if you don't do it. You tell yourself it won't be that bad, and you might even enjoy it. And then you spend the whole visit wanting to poke your eyes out just to give yourself an excuse to leave early. I know, strong words for such cute little tarts:

After many hours of procrastination, I finally convinced myself to make the Great Aunt Gladys tarts, but I was just not excited about this recipe. Partly it's that I don't like cream pies or meringue in general. Partly it's that I'm taking a sugar vacation for a few weeks so I'm trying to limit my exposure to sweets. Partly it's that I was feeling oh so lazy and the whole thermometer/whisking/food processor/extended chilling time seemed bothersome.

In the end, I halved the recipe and it made enough for two deep-dish mini tarts. They were adorable, and the lime cream filling was nice and refreshingly zesty (I omitted most of the butter and it was still plenty creamy and rich.) The crust was decidedly iffy because I used a bag of mystery crumbs in the cupboard (I was at least 80% certain they were graham crumbs before I used them, but the taste of the final tart shell reduces that certainty to about 63%), but that's my own fault. It's not a bad recipe, and it certainly didn't make me want to poke my eyeballs out. I can see making these for someone who loves lemon citrus meringue pies, but for my tastes, I should have listened to myself and skipped out this week. Score another one for the Aunt Gladyses of the world.

23 comments:

  1. How great does the colour contrast between meringue and filling look?

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  2. they are very cute and glad you didn't lose an eye in the process :)

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  3. You certainly got some nice, clean slices. And how did you get the cream to be kinda green? Amazing.

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  4. Please tell me you put food coloring in there... of not, what kind of limes you used! WOW! Beautiful!

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  5. Hillary8:14 AM

    I think that the Great Aunt Gladys Tart might be one of the best names for a dessert not actually handed down by a relative that I've ever heard. When you have your own bakery some day, I would love to see a Great Aunt Gladys Tart (with accompanying little name card, because otherwise it would just be a really pretty tart, and no one would know it was the world's best-named tart).

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  6. I know how it feels to be obligated to make something, even when you're all sugar-ed out. And even though you couldn't get excited over this week's TWD, from where I'm standing - you ended up with two of the cutest little green tarts I've ever seen. So adorable!

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  7. Love the little tarts and the meringue peaks. Very pretty. I felt the same about this tart. Not something that I will be making again.

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  8. Well, I for one am glad you didn't poke your eyeballs out. That really would have put a kink in your day!

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  9. I felt the same way about making the cream and the meringue... but wow your final product looks absolutely amazing! The colors and textures look wonderful together and now I'm dying for a piece...

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  10. Anonymous12:05 PM

    Your mini-tarts look perfect! I love the green color of your cream.

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  11. I had the same reservations as you about making this week's recipe. But yesterday I went ahead and did it anyway, but with my own twist. Your little tarts do look fab! Your photos always do!
    Good luck with your cut back on sugar!

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  12. Anonymous12:50 PM

    Can I be your Aunt Gladys? Cuz I loved this! Glad you didn't skip but can understand why you would next time. ( I skipped the blanc manger for the same reasons).

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  13. Wow! Your mini-tarts look lovely!
    I’m sorry you didn’t like them!

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  14. Anonymous3:35 PM

    They look very cute! Hopefully your mystery crumbs are gone now - that would be a benefit of making this recipe!

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  15. These look great. Your aunt's recipe sounds yummy. Your meringue is amazingly pretty!

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  16. I'm sorry that these didn't work for you, even with the mystery crust!!!

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  17. my sentiments exactly about this recipe. your slook great!

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  18. Aunt Gladys .. you are too funny

    This wasn't up your alley, so I appreciate the effort you made to bake along with me.

    Your pies look beautiful, and if you have any leftover, I'd be happy to take them off your hands!

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  19. The difference between the custard and meringue is amazing. Looks fantastic.

    I had an Aunt 'gladys'. Three layers of lipstick and pinching cheek fingers. I still shiver when I drive past her old house.

    Everyone should have one.

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  20. looks gorgeous, sorry it didn't knock your socks off!

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  21. wow your lime cream really came out green!! beautiful meringue!

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  22. I LOVE your blog title! And I am going to try your tarts. They look positively gorgeous!

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  23. I am to submit a report on this niche your post has been very very helpfull

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