LEMON CURD OLIVE OIL CAKE IN A TART SHELL

There are strong feelings expressed when people are asked, “Do you like cake or pie best?” A positive response on either side, makes a great case for this recipe. In fact the recipe itself was born out of the need to satisfy both sides.

Here we are going to combine four independently great recipes into one. The tart shells are made with melted brown butter which makes them impossible to roll out. So just put the same amount, about 2 ounces, into each tart pan-shell and press until it evenly conforms to the shape of the tart shell.  For this recipe, blind bake shells at 325 for 15 minutes.

Remove and cool shells about 10 minutes before adding the  lemon curd; cooling the shell a little is important so shells won’t melt the curd.  (see picture 1 below) Then be ready to distribute the  lemon olive oil cake batter,  covering the curd, without mixing or stirring. Then topped with spoonful of swiss meringue! With a toothpick, distribute meringue into the cake batter very gently. Note, that the meringue is not covering all the cake. Put the tart-cakes or cake-tarts onto a cookie sheet with cooling rack so shells are lifted off the bottom of the cookie sheet. (picture 3 below) Place filled tarts back into the pre-heated oven at 325F for 15-20 minutes.  The cake part will be done when when it springs back when lightly touched. Cool on rack about 15 minutes before trying to remove them from the tart pans. At this point cake-tarts store well covered overnight at room temperature.

1-4, L-R, Picture 1- place curd into cooled shells; 2- cover curd with cake batter; 3-dollop on meringue; 4-spread meringue through cake batter using toothpick then bake.