No Fuss Coconut Lime Tart Recipes

NO-FUSS FRUIT TART

Steps:

• This is perhaps one of the most useful desserts you can have in your repertoire. Not that it is the job of a dessert to be useful: a dessert exists merely to delight. Still, dinner does need to be made, even when there's precious little time for it, and that should be a delight, too. So here's the deal: there is pitifully little work to be done to make this berry-dazzler of a tart, and enormous pleasure to be derived from its consumption.
• All you do is bash a few graham crackers a day or so in advance and make the base - getting one course out of the way early is my way of managing - then stir lemon curd and cream cheese together, and use this cream to line the crumb-covered tart pan. I use store-bought lemon curd here, but even if it comes out of the jar, it must be of good quality. And when it is whipped into the cream cheese, that cream cheese must be at room temperature, as should the lemon curd in its jar. The combination produces a layer of what tastes like cheesecake cream: light, lemony, luscious.
• I used to put the berries on top of the cream pretty much last-minute, but then I found that a leftover wedge, after the party, looked inviting after being in the refrigerator overnight, and so I now finish assembling the tart ahead of time. But if you prefer to add the fruit nearer to serving, I completely understand.
• Don't feel you must obey the fruit orders too literally: any mixture of berries (or indeed other fruit) would do, and you could well use a smaller amount and top the tart less extravagantly.
• Process the crackers and the butter to a sandy rubble in a food processor and press into the sides and the bottom of a deep-sided fluted tart pan. Put it in the freezer or refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• In a clean processor bowl, process the cream cheese and lemon curd (or just mix by hand) and spread it into the bottom of the chilled tart pan, covering the base evenly.
• Arrange the fruit gently (so it doesn't sink in too much) on top of the lemony cream cheese in a decorative manner, leaving some of the strawberries unhulled, with their picturesque stalks attached.
• Refrigerator the tart, preferably overnight, or for at least 4 hours. It does need to get properly cold in order to set enough for the tart to be unmolded and sliced easily.
• Make Ahead Note:
• The tart can be made 1 day ahead. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, being careful not to press on the filling, and refrigerate. Will keep for around 4 days.
• Freeze Note:
• The tart, without fruit topping, can be frozen for up to 3 months if made with regular cream cheese, but be warned it may "weep" on thawing, so is not ideal for freezing. Open-freeze tart until firm, then wrap (still in its pan) in a double layer of plastic wrap and layer of aluminum foil. To thaw, unwrap and cover loosely with plastic wrap then thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Decorate and serve as directed in the recipe.

COCONUT, SYRUP & LIME TART

Steps:

• Make the pastry (it's easiest in a food processor). Whizz the flour, sugars and a pinch of sea salt for a few seconds. Add the butter. Whizz for another few seconds until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
• Whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbsp ice-cold water in a small bowl, then pour into the flour mixture. Whizz until the pastry has collected in a ball around the spindle, then remove it and press into a fat disc. Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Bring the pastry back to cool room temperature and roll it out thinly on a well-floured surface. It is very short and crumbly, so work it quickly on a cold surface and patch up any tears using a little flour dabbled with a wet pastry brush. Line a loose-bottomed 25-26cm x 4cm tart tin, so it's slightly proud of the tin. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/ fan 180C. Line the pastry with foil, then pour in ceramic or dried beans. Bake for 12-14 minutes, remove the foil and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is no longer raw-looking but remains uncoloured. Remove from the oven and put to one side while you get the filling ready.
• Put the creamed coconut in a heatproof bowl and add 150ml/¼ pint of boiling water. Whisk until the coconut has dissolved, then leave to cool.
• Put the remaining ingredients, except the double cream, into a food processor and whizz to combine. (The syrup and treacle can be weighed together and are easier to pour if the cans have been warmed first. Use a plastic spatula to scrape every last jot into the processor.) Add the cooled creamed coconut and double cream and whizz again.
• Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3½/fan 150C. Put the tart tin on to a heavy baking sheet. Pour the filling in to reach the top of the pastry - it doesn't rise much so it won't overflow. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the tart is golden and set. Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature. Serve dusted with icing sugar, with a jug of crème fraîche or double cream alongside.