My sister made my niece's birthday cake without baking soda in October. Luckily it was one of those ones with a layer of molten chocolate goo. We ate that with the ice cream...

Oh, it's ruined for sure. I'll be right over to take it off your hands.

Eileen

Tart looks good, Lars.

I made oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies once w/o flour. Obviously, they spread all over the baking sheet and made a mess. I chunked everything up in the FP and used it as a topping for muffins, ice cream, etc. (shrug) Stuff happens. :)

/tricia

Eileen, I would give it to you if you showed up! I can always make another one, although I have limited supply of lemons.

Speaking of which, I took this picture of the zest that I got from three medium-large Meyer lemons. When I wrote down the recipe, I said to use the zest of three lemons (because I had read that in one of the recipes I was following), but one recipe said to use 1 tablespoon of zest. It looked like I had about 1/4 cup zest, but it would have compressed to 2 tbsp, I think. I didn't compress the zest, to make it easier to stir in. I also did not measure the lemon juice and just used what I got from the three lemons. Last time I measured it was 2/3 cup, and I may have gotten 3/4 cup this time, which is what the recipe called for. I was not going to cut another lemon to make up the difference from 2/3 to 3/4 because 2/3 cup worked on the previous tart. The zest from my Meyer lemons is not bitter, and so it will not hurt if I have extra.

Lars

Oh yum! Butterless curd...might be a breakthrough and you can't have too much Meyer lemon.

What's wrong? Doesn't look like anything is wrong to me, it looks delicious.

I'll be waiting to see how the lemon curd is without butter, I'm betting it's fine.

Sorry about the poultry, though, it always seems that things take longer than I anticipate, or less time, but never the amount of time I think it will.

Annie

Lars, your tart looks beautiful, a work of art!

Nancy

Lars, that is one of the prettiest tarts I've seen. As Nancy said,it really is a work of art.

~Ann

Lars, that is one beautiful tart! I am sure it will taste as good as it looks, and hey....fewer calories, too!

Linda

Yes, Tart art!

dcarch

Really nice Lars! And I am not even a dessert person!

That looks spectacular!!!

So, how is it? It looks delicious!

E

Mmmm! It's making my mouth water!

Looks gorgeous, Lars! I would just about kill to try a slice. Mind wrapping up a piece and mailing it? Oops, no, fresh fruit isn't allowed into the country :-(
I always add the extra lemon rind to recipes if there is any. Can't be too lemony for me!

Nothing wrong with this tart that a fork couldn't fix.

I haven't tried omitting the butter in my lemon curd. I'm betting it would not be as rich, but I can't imagine it not being delicious.

Sol

Mmmm, I think a butterless lemon tart sounds as wonderful as your photo! Please save me a piece!

Sure does look nice. I'll bet it's delicious.

Jim

That tart looks lovely ! Where can I find the recipe ?

I'll be right over for my piece. Yummers! Looks great and I'm thinking it will taste just fine.

I had 9 lemons this year from the new Meyer Lemon tree. I'm savoring and saving! This just may be the recipe! Beautiful.

Wow, that is beautiful. Can I get that in a shirt pattern?

I bet it tastes just fine.

Is it that almost all the strawberries are pointing to the center? Vaudeville hook for me.

I wouldn't eat that without the butter if I were you. May give you a stomach ache. Just ship it to me and I'll take care of it for you.

It's beautiful, Lars. A feast for the eyes and the tummy. One time O baked a German Chocolate Cake. After it was baked and iced I noticed two sticks of butter sitting on the counter that I never put in the cake. I don't know how you could bake a cake and miss the butter, but I did. It actually tasted okay.

Lars, what a beautiful tart! I am sure it is delicious!

Silvia

Anything that beautiful simply couldn't taste bad! Anxious to hear how it was. You may have hit on a way to cut the fat content.

Mmmmm!

Sally

Well, we ate pieces of it last night, and from a flavor standpoint, I could not tell much difference. It was not quite as thick as the previous tart, but that could be remedied by adding another tablespoon of cornstarch to the curd (I already had one tbsp in it). The strawberries have started to bleed a bit of color into the curd and have partially sunk - probably because the curd does not have enough buoyancy without the butter. However, this does not affect the flavor.

The other difference is that it has a very intense lemon aroma when I eat it - the fragrance from the lemon zest is almost overwhelming - like an intense whiff of orange and lemon blossoms. It doesn't have this effect on Kevin, but his nose is a lot less sensitive than mine. It's a good thing that I love the fragrance of lemon blossoms! I'm thinking I may have put too much zest in it, but I think another explanation for the overwhelming fragrance was that the lemons had just been picked when I zested them, and so they had not had time for the fragrance to dissipate. I think I used 3/4 cup of lemon juice this time, and I should have kept it at 2/3 cup.

I'm not sure I will want to use strawberries in the future, unless I decide to leave them whole, and they are really too big for that. The raspberries were perfect.

Here's the recipe I used, minus the butter in the curd:

Lemon Curd Tart with Fresh Berries

For the crust:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
Pinch salt
1 tbsp cold water

For the curd:

3 Meyer lemons, zested
2/3 to 3/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (zest lemons before squeezing)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1-1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
Pinch salt
1-1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pats

For the topping:
Fresh blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries (whatever is in season), 1-1/2 pints total

Instructions:

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare crust by combining butter and egg yolk in a mixing bowl � can use the paddle attachment of an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat until combined. Sift flour and salt together and add to sugar mixture, stirring just to combine into a grainy texture. Sprinkle the water over the mixture and combine with hands to make dough pull together. Dump mixture onto floured board and form the dough into a ball, kneading, if necessary. Press the ball into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface roll dough into an 11" diameter circle. Transfer dough to a 10" diameter tart pan, and push dough into sides of the pan, making the inside corner as square as possible. You can use the bottom of a tumbler for this. Roll over the top edge of the tart pan to cut off excess dough and make a flat edge. Cut a 12" diameter piece of aluminum foil and place it on the pastry, keeping inside corners somewhat sharp. (I used Reynolds quick-release with the non-stick side on the dough.) Fill the shell with pie weights or beans, and fold edges of foil over the edge of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the pie weights and foil, prick the bottom of the tart shell, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. When you remove the tart shell, prick it again if it has puffed up or does not settle fairly flat. Allow this to cool to room temperature.

For the curd:

Zest the lemons and reserve the zest.

In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, cornstarch, sugar, eggs, and salt and beat with an electric mixer or whisk to a homogenous consistency. Stir in the lemon zest with a spoon (not the whisk or beaters) and place this mixture in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking and stirring for 8 to 10 minutes more, until mixture has thickened and reached a temperature of 175 degrees. Once the mixture gets above 165 degrees, the temperature will start to rise more quickly, and you will have to watch it closely at this point. It is okay to take it to 180 degrees, as it will continue to heat after it is removed from the burner.

Add the butter, one or two pats at a time, and stir until it is fully incorporated and has a silky consistency.

Pour the lemon curd into the prepared shell and allow to it cool to room temperature. Place tart in a pie saver with cover and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

Arrange fresh berries in concentric rings on top, alternating rings between sweet and tart berries.

__________

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions - I wish I could share it with all of you because it has to be eaten quickly before the berries go bad!

Lars

Lars, your tart looks so yum I've decided it's going to be the first dessert I make when the reconstruction of our house after Sandy is completed. It's worthy of a celebratory dessert! (I'll make a mental note to include the butter though. lol) I've copied & pasted your recipe but will use just raspberries and blackberries since I have them in my food storage year around.

/tricia

Tricia, raspberries and blackberries will be perfect - they are my favorites for this recipe. I wrote the recipe so that it would be easy to follow, since I forget things easily, but I somehow managed to forget the butter anyway! I've sort of become obsessed with this dessert, possibly because I love lemons, and this is my favorite lemon dessert. I can't believe I had never made lemon curd before! It's really a very easy recipe - the worst part for me was zesting the lemons. I hope you will have some Meyer lemons - they make a big difference in this.

Lars

Your subject title made me think of Cake Wrecks, which yours is most absolutely NOT a wreck. She writes such witty captions, it made me think of Jen. Looking good! Fun experiment on your lemon curd.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cake Wreck's version of What's wrong with this picture

Lars, the obvious answer is to make small, individual tarts each time you're craving lemon! ;-D The mixture of the berries and the symmetrical design are a feast for the eye!

Guess, I better read all the replies.. and find out how it tasted.

It sure does look delish!

Moni

Lars, that tart is gorgeous! And you found a way to make it have a few less calories ;) Good Show!

Beautiful!

Wow, Lars, that is a lovely dessert. I would have a difficult time wanting to cut into that beauty. Ok, once I get over that dilema, I would have a difficult time not eating it all at one sitting.

michaelp