I love lime. Squeezed over a pad thai, dunked in a g&t or even blitzed in a smoothie; I’ll always be overzealous with it. I just love how fresh, tangy and vibrant it is. I really wanted to incorporate it into a bake somehow and the idea for a lime curd tart sprung to mind. But I wanted to make it a little more interesting than just pairing it with a shortcrust pastry, which is where the chocolate lime tart was born.
I love a biscuit base and not just for cheesecakes. Both my lemon cream gingernut pie and chocolate peanut butter pie have biscuit bases – and are also both delicious, so make sure to check them out! It also makes the bake so much simpler, as there’s no pastry faff to contend with. I used to have a real problem with pastry and it never seemed to go my way. I practised lots and have now got the hang of it, but if you’re still feeling apprehensive about pastry; this is the bake for you!
So firstly you want to blitz your chocolate biscuits to a fine crumb. I would recommend Mcvities double chocolate biscuits, as they’re delicious and the perfect biscuit for a base like this. However I couldn’t find any anywhere, so I had to use bourbons and scrape off the cream. It actually wasn’t as laborious as it sounds, so if you’re in a pinch its a great option. You then mix it with the melted butter, and pack it into the tart cases. I decided to bake them for 10 minutes; just to give some extra stability and ensure they would come out of the tart cases without a problem! I don’t always do that with a biscuit base, but as I was using smaller fluted tart cases I thought it’d be beneficial.
Now the thing with lime curd is; it doesn’t actually end up bright green like you’d think. . because of the butter and eggs it stays a pale yellow and could easily be mistaken for a lemon curd. Now this isn’t usually a problem and you could definitely leave it as is. But. I am a food blogger, and I wanted that stark contrast between green lime curd and dark chocolate to make it abundantly clear what flavour the tart was. So I have added green food colouring to my curd.
I also sieve this curd three times. That may seem excessive, but its worth it to get that silky smooth texture. You’ll then need to pop the tarts in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You could definitely make this the night before and serve the next day, making it a great dinner party dessert! The time in the fridge gives the curd a chance to set, and not spill out across your plate once you’re tucking in.
This recipe is pretty simple, but really effective and delicious. I hope you give these chocolate lime tarts a try!
Chocolate Lime Tarts
Ingredients
Biscuit Base:
- 200 g chocolate biscuits
- 70 g unsalted butter melted
Lime Curd:
- 3 small limes
- 120 ml lime juice
- 120 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 175 g unsalted butter room temperature
- green food colouring optional
- strawberries/lime/mint optional
Instructions
- For the biscuit base: Preheat the oven to 180C/200C fan. Then blitz the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and blitz until the mixture holds together when pressed with a spatula.
- Spoon into each tart case and using the spoon compact against the base and sides. Then bake for 10 minutes, and leave to cool.
- For the curd: Peel the zest off the limes (leaving the white pith behind) and place the zest into a medium saucepan. Add in the lime juice, caster sugar and eggs, then place over a medium heat. Whisking continuously (you don’t want the eggs to cook), cook until the curd reaches a simmer. Then take off the heat.
- Cut the butter into cubes, and add to a large bowl. Using a sieve, strain the curd over the butter – discarding the zest that is left behind. Stir the curd into the butter until it has completely melted. Then using another bowl, sieve the mixture back and forth three times (discarding any lumps) to ensure you’re left with a smooth curd.
- Add a small blob of green food colouring and stir into the curd until combined. Then spoon the curd into the cooled tart shells and place into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. You can leave them overnight at this point.
- Decorating is optional – but when ready to serve, sprinkle some biscuit crumbs in a line over 1/3 of the tart and add sliced strawberries and lime on top, garnishing with the mint.
