Although I absolutely love cooking, baking is where my heart is. I love experimenting, creating new recipes, coming up with flavor combinations, and of course, decorating cakes.
I was over at my parents' house this weekend and took a look around for ripe fruit because I felt like baking. My mom is an amazing gardener, so my parents' garden is filled with edible plants, fruits, and veggies (from the usual tomatoes and lettuce to more unusual stuff like kefir limes, passion fruit, and coffee beans). This means I get to scour the yard and bake from whatever's in season. This time the Meyer lemon* tree out front was overflowing with perfectly ripe lemons, so I decided to use them for this dessert.
*Note: For those of you who don't know, Meyer lemons are generally sweeter and have a smoother and slightly darker peel, whereas eureka lemons are sour and more stereotypically "lemon-y". Meyers are great for baking and making desserts, but not great for say, guacamole (I speak from experience).
After picking my fair share of lemons, I decided to create a brand new recipe from scratch. Not to toot my own horn, but it turned out damn well. Here it is ladies and gents, my Meyer lemon, sage, and olive oil tart.
(Note: this recipe makes one full-sized 11-12in tart or four 5in tarts.)
What you'll need: 1/3 cup of Meyer lemon juice (about 3 lemons), 2 tablespoons of Eureka lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of cold virgin coconut oil, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 large eggs, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of white sugar, 4 finely minced fresh sage leaves, 2 teaspoons of corn starch, zest from 1 Meyer lemon, and 1 pre-baked Tart Crust (or 4 minis).
Before you begin cooking you should do the following:
- Measure and lay out all of your ingredients in advance because you'll need to be able to grab them easily while whisking the filling (aka the sabayon).
- Prepare a double boiler by boiling 1-2 inches of water in the base pot. If you do not have a double boiler, pick a mixing bowl that fits on top of a regular pot, but make sure it sits at least a few inches above the bottom of the pot. Heat water in the base pot.
- Place your tart shell(s) on a parchment lined sheet tray.
- Mix the corn starch into the lemon juice.
- Turn your broiler on high.
In a medium-sized metal bowl whisk the eggs, yolks, brown sugar, and white sugar until it becomes smooth (about 1 minute).
Once smooth, place the bowl over your double boiler base and whisk the egg vigorously until it gets frothy and begins to thicken (about 5 minutes). Do not stop whisking, otherwise the egg will start to cook and the dessert will not turn out well.
Once frothy and thicker, add in half the lemon juice mixture and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Continue whisking until well incorporated and starting to thicken again.
Test the texture by dipping a spoon in the mixture. Once it coats the spoon without Immediately dripping off (as seen above), add the remainder of the lemon juice/corn starch mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Continue to whisk until mixture is close to the texture of pudding. Once it reaches this consistency, remove the double boiler from the heat.
Whisk in the lemon zest and minced sage. Vigorously whisk in the coconut oil one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated and smooth. Once everything is mixed in, take the bowl/top of your double boiler out of the water.
Spoon or pour the sabayon into the center of your tart shell(s), being careful not to get it onto the outsides of the crust. Place the tart(s) under the broiler (aka the grill) until the tops are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Do not leave the oven alone while broiling! They can burn very fast if you're not careful.
Enjoy!
MEYER LEMON, SAGE, AND OLIVE OIL TART
Servings: 6-8
Time: 35 mins
Difficulty: intermediate
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
2 Tbs Eureka lemon juice
3 Tbs cold virgin coconut oil
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
4 fresh sage leaves, finely minced
2 tsp corn starch,
Zest from 1 Meyer lemon
1 pre-baked Tart Crust (or 4 minis)
PREPARATION
Before you begin cooking you should do the following:
– Measure and lay out all of your ingredients in advance because you’ll need to be able to grab them easily while whisking the filling (aka the sabayon).
– Prepare a double boiler by boiling 1-2 inches of water in the base pot. If you do not have a double boiler, pick a mixing bowl that fits on top of a regular pot, but make sure it sits at least a few inches above the bottom of the pot. Heat water in the base pot.
– Place your tart shell(s) on a parchment lined sheet tray.
– Mix the corn starch into the lemon juice.
– Turn your broiler on high.
METHOD
In a medium-sized metal bowl or the top of your double boiler, whisk the eggs, yolks, brown sugar and white sugar until it becomes smooth (about 1 minute).
Once smooth, place the bowl over your double boiler base and whisk the egg vigorously until it gets frothy and begins to thicken. Do not stop whisking, otherwise the egg will start to cook and the dessert will not turn out well.
In a medium-sized metal bowl whisk the eggs, yolks, brown sugar and white sugar until it becomes smooth (about 1 minute).
Once frothy and slightly thicker, add in half the lemon juice/corn starch mixture and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Continue whisking until well incorporated and starting to thicken again.
Test the texture by dipping a spoon in the mixture. Once it coats the spoon without immediately dripping off, add the remainder of the lemon juice mixture and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Continue to whisk until mixture almost resembles the texture of pudding. Once it reaches this consistency, remove the double boiler from the heat.
Now that the sabayon is almost thick like pudding, whisk in the lemon zest and minced sage. Vigorously whisk in the coconut oil one tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated and smooth.
Once everything is mixed in, take the mixing bowl or top of your double boiler off of the water.
Spoon or pour the sabayon into the center of your tart shell(s), being careful not to get it onto the outsides of the crust. Place the tart(s) under the broiler until the tops are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Do not leave the oven alone while broiling! The tart can burn very fast if you’re not careful.
Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve room temperature or chilled. Enjoy!