Key Lime Squares – Tartelette
Key Lime Squares
12.11.2006
Helene Dujardin
(Senior Editor)
10 Comments
You must be in the same situation I am: you read blogs everyday, your mouth waters at gorgeous pictures and great recipes. You copy them, you print them and your collection keeps on growing. I have binders full of recipes I see on blogs and it ususally takes me longer than a few days to get around one of them, but these were the exception. When I saw the original recipe on Mary’s blog, I knew I had to make them almost immediately. I love anything lime or lemon as much as I love chocolate.
I made them last week, early saturday afternoon, you know, in case of a snack attack, and I had no idea that they would part of our weekly saturday neighborhood gathering. You probably think we live on Wysteria lane the way I talk about my block, but take away some of the drama and you are not far from the truth. There are bachelors and young couiples, plenty of kids, cats and dogs. It is a fun and crazy mix. The doors are wide open, the kitchens shared and ingredients travel from one pantry to the other. No phone required, just step out on the balcony.
Around 4pm, there is an oyster roast or a clam chowder in the making, ribs and vegetables on the grill, finger foods being set out as well as am assortment of drinks to be passed around.
Around 6pm, the kids gather under my balcony and want to know what is for dessert. Tonight it was something chocolate but last week it was Key Lime Squares.
I altered Mary’s recipe a little and the bars still came ou perfect. For starters, I did not have Meyer lemons but a big supply of Key lime. I also baked the crust in a bigger pan and tripled the filling quantities. These bars or squares are close to perfection. The filling has that perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. The crust is buttery but never soggy or too hard. This recipe is already part of “my favorites” binder.
Key Lime Squares, adapted from Mary at Alpine Berry:
Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Filling:
6 large eggs
3 cups superfine or bakers’ sugar
6 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt2 Tb finely grated key lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line a 13×9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
To make crust:Combine flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.
To make filling:In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lime zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it’s okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
Thank you Mary for sharing such a great recipe! Tonight’s installment with our weekly gathering was not bad either, but that post will have to wait.
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