These tarts are quite tart. And I like em’ that way. I used a classic sweet tart dough that I’ve adapted from Dorie Greenspan (a very reliable source when it comes to all things desserts) for the crust. I really love a good lemon curd but I wanted to try something different. So the mango lime tarts where born. I used 4” mini round tart pans for this recipe.

Mango Lime Tarts

Prep time: 1 hour + 2 hours 40 mins inactive
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 1 hour, 30 mins + 2 hours 40 mins inactive
Yield: Eight 4” tarts

INGREDIENTS

For the Dough

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup icing sugar
1 tsp. salt
9 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk, gently stirred to break it up

For the Mango Lime Curd

2 large ripe mangos, peeled and pitted, cut into ½ inch pieces
2/3 cup unsalted butter
Juice of 2 limes
Zest of ½ a lime
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Garnish

1 cup very cold heavy cream (whipping cream)
2 tbsp. icing sugar
Splash vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lime

DIRECTIONS

To make the dough, put the flour, icing sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse until combined. Scatter the pieces of frozen butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely ground into no bigger than pea-sized pieces. Add in the egg yolk a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. Once the egg yolk is combined, pulse the dough for 10 seconds at a time, until the dough starts to form clumps. At this stage turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and taking a few tablespoons of dough at a time, smear it across the counter with the heel of your hand, repeating until all of the dough has been smeared. This action is called frisage and will help to incorporate the butter more evenly in the dough and will catch any dry ingredients that may have escaped mixing.

Shape the dough into a disk and place it between two large pieces of wax or parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough between the paper until it is around 1/8th to 1/16th of an inch thick. Place the rolled out dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 2 hours. You can make this ahead and refrigerate the dough overnight if you like.

While the dough is chilling in the fridge, start on the curd. Place the mango chunks in a food processor and blend until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any of the fibrous bits. Set aside.

Melt the butter “for the curd” in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. As soon as the butter has melted (but is not overly hot or it will scramble the eggs), whisk in the remaining ingredients “for the curd”, including the mango puree. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the curd has thickened. This should take approximately 10 minutes, stirring often. Be sure to not raise the temperature to try to speed up the process– this will simply cause the eggs to scramble and you will have to start over again. Remove the curd from the heat and strain once more through a fine mesh sieve to achieve a velvety texture. Transfer the curd to a sealed container and refrigerate. You can also make the curd a day ahead and store in the fridge.

Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and let rest on the counter for approximately 10 minutes so that it does not crack when placing into the tart pans. Butter the mini tart pans (I used eight 4” mini round tart pans) and place the dough into each pan, trimming any excess dough around the edges. The dough should be flush with the edges of each mini tart pan. Prick each tart all over with a fork and freeze for minimum of 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Butter the shiny side of 8 pieces of aluminum foil that are slightly larger than your tart pans, and press the buttered side down into the crusts. Fill the tarts with dried beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and press down on the crust with the back of a spoon if it has puffed at all. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until firm and golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before removing the tart crusts from the pans.

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream “for the garnish” until it starts to thicken. Add in the sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks are formed. Gently fold in the vanilla extract.

To assemble your tarts, scoop the mango lime curd into each shell until it is just below the edge of the crust. If serving immediately, top with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of lime zest. If serving later, the mango tarts will keep covered in the fridge for 5-7 days. The whipping cream should be stored separately and will last up to 3 days sealed in an airtight container.