A Dessert to Brighten Your Day

A few years ago, cookbook author Melissa Clark had the bright idea to mix lemon, blood orange, and lime juice all together to make a citrus curd. I think it’s time we revisited this idea.

“Bright” doesn’t even begin to describe the flavor of this tart, and don’t get me started on the lovely pale color—I could live in a room that hue. The chocolate crust is perfect and adds just the right heft of cocoa flavor to this light yet rich assemblage topped with bright red raspberries and luscious blackberries.

Triple-Citrus Tart with Chocolate Crust and Berries

Serves 8 
Start to finish: 3 hours
Hands-on time: 1 hour

Chocolate Crust

• 42 chocolate wafers (I use Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers)
• 1⁄4 cup [50 g] sugar
• 1⁄2 cup [110 g] unsalted butter, melted

Citrus Curd

• 2 lemons
• 2 blood oranges
• 1 lime
• 3⁄4 cup [150 g] sugar
• 6 Tbsp [85 g] unsalted butter
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, plus 3 egg yolks

Glaze

• 1⁄4 cup [85 g] strained apricot jam
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup
• 1 1⁄2 cups [180 g] blackberries
• 1 1⁄2 cups [180 g] raspberries

TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CRUST:

Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Combine the chocolate wafers and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Pour in the melted butter and process until well mixed and crumbly.

Dump the crumbs into a 9-in [23-cm] springform pan and, using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs on the bottom and 1 in [2.5 cm] up the sides of the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until fragrant and firm. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

TO MAKE THE CITRUS CURD:

Zest the lemons, blood oranges, and lime; set the zests aside. Squeeze the citrus juice (you should have about 1 cup [240 ml]) and combine it with the sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a medium heat-proof bowl until combined. While whisking rapidly, pour the hot citrus-sugar mixture slowly into the eggs. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, until lightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes (do not boil or the eggs will curdle). The curd should coat the back of the spatula. It will thicken further as it cools.

Immediately transfer the citrus curd to a clean heat-proof bowl (otherwise it will continue to cook in the hot pan and could scramble) and stir in the zests. Continue stirring for 1 minute to stop the cooking and then let continue to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the curd into the cooled shell. Refrigerate the tart, covered, for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours, to set up.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE:

Combine the jam and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and heat, stirring, until thinned and warm, about 1 minute.

Garnish the top of the tart with a circle of blackberries around the edge and fill in with the raspberries. Brush the warm (not hot) glaze over the berries to give them shine. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours before serving. (It will still be good the next day, but the berries will begin to soften.)

This recipe is from Carla Snyder’s citrus-centric book, Sweet and Tart.