Lime and Coconut Tart

 

Not many things scream summer like zesty citrus and coconut. It’s super zingy and fresh and light and a great summer dessert. Add shredded coconut to the base, along with some black sesame seeds and a good pinch of salt help to balance out the sweetness from the ultra-simple, key lime inspired filling. Top with a good lashing of whipped cream and some sliced fresh and dried citrus and off you go! You can add fresh pineapple to the top of this tart and it might be a bit like a pina colada.  

 

Feeds 8-10.  

 

Ingredients: 

For the base: 

  • 200g hobnobs or a similar wheat & oat biscuit 
  • 50g shredded coconut 
  • 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds 
  • A pinch of salt 
  • 125ml melted coconut oil 

For the filling: 

  • 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 
  • 5 egg yolks 
  • 150ml lime juice 
  • Zest from 4 limes 

To serve: 

  • 300ml thickened cream 
  • 1 lime 
  • 1 orange 
  • 1 pink grapefruit 
  • 1 blood orange 
  • An assortment of dehydrated citrus, optional 


Method: 

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 C. Prepare a loose-based tart tin, approximately 26-28cm diameter, with a sheet of baking paper over the bottom. Place your tart tin onto a baking sheet – this will make removing the tart from the oven much easier and without the risk of accidentally pushing the base upwards as your grab the hot tin! 
  2. Blitz your biscuits until they form a fine crumb. Combine with shredded coconut, black sesame seeds, salt and add melted coconut oil. Mix this together until no dry bits remain. 
  3. Press the mixture firmly into the base and up the sides of your tart tin. Use a cup to help you, if you need. 
  4. Bake for 12 minutes in the oven, remove and leave to cool. 
  5. Into a stand mixer, add egg yolks and beat until pale. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. 
  6. Add lime juice and zest and beat a couple of times just to combine.  
  7. Pour filling into the tart shell and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes. It should have a slight jiggle. Just slight! 
  8. Leave this to cool and then place in fridge, ideally overnight but 4 hours should do the trick if you’re too short on time.  
  9. When ready to serve, gently remove the tart from its tin and place onto your serving plate. Whip your cream to soft peaks and top the tart with it however you like. I like to leave my cream unsweetened, I think it’s better this way and the filling is sweet enough, but my all means, sweeten the cream if you want to. You’re the one eating it, after all.   
  10. Slice your fresh citrus thinly or in chunks and decorate over the cream. Add dehydrated citrus too, if using. A few nasturtiums and their leaves look pretty here but are by no means essential.  
  11. This tart is best served chilled and you’ll notice the base will get more crumbly and delicate if it warms too much, just a heads up.  

 Clementine Day is a self-taught cook who lives and works on Wurundjeri Land in Melbourne, Australia. She runs Some Things I Like To Cook, an evolving project that celebrates the joy of food, drawing a meaningful connection between food, people and play. 

With a relaxed and unfussy approach, Clementine’s recipes empower even the most inexperienced of cooks to create memorable experiences based around the simple act of eating and entertaining. She is passionate about encouraging others to have fun and trust their intuition in the kitchen, and her candid, refreshing approach to recipe writing feels like having a supportive best friend alongside as your cooking companion.

Clementine works on collaborative projects with a vast array of different creatives. This includes recipe development and contribution, dining projects, food styling, private lunches and dinners, and creative food publications. In 2020, Clementine released her first cookbook Coming Together, a collection of recipes based on six long lunches she hosted with friends, which she cooked, photographed, styled and self-published. 

Follow Clementine on Instagram here.