Caution: Don't overfill tart shells when making satsuma tarts. If filling drips between the shell and pan, it can make the tart difficult to remove. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Do not overtake tarts. They should still be a bit jiggly in the center when you place them on a rack to cool. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Satsuma tart. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
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Caution: Don't overfill tart shells when making satsuma tarts. If filling drips between the shell and pan, it can make the tart difficult to remove. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Do not overtake tarts. They should still be a bit jiggly in the center when you place them on a rack to cool. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Satsuma tart. (Photo by Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
When you've got a lot of satsumas, look at adapting recipes designed for other citrus, such as lemons and oranges. Look inour recipe archive for many citrus dishes to adapt.
This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen's lemon tart. Lemons are tarter, so we used a bit less sugar.
When making the curd, a few tips: Once the curd ingredients have been combined, cook the curd immediately to avoid getting a grainy texture. Also, use non-reactive stainless steel bowls, pots, whisk, and strainers when making curd to avoid a metallic flavor. (In other words, no aluminum.)
To avoid overcooking the curd, watch for when a spoon leaves a clear trail on bottom of the saucepan that then quickly disappears. At that point, remove it from heat. It is overcooked when it becomes thick and a spoon leaves a wide clear trail.
If your pre-baked tart shell has cooled, place it in a warm oven and heat it until warm, about 5 minutes, before filling.
Satsuma tart
Makes 1 tart
1 fully baked warm tart shell (9- to 9 1/2-inch) (see recipe below)
7 large egg yolks plus 2 large whole eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup satsuma juice, from about 5 medium satsumas
1 tablespoon grated satsuma zest
1/4 cup grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Whipped cream, for garnish
Fresh mint, for garnish
In medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together yolks and whole eggs until fully combined. Add sugar and whisk until just combined. Add satsuma juice, zest and salt and whisk until fully incorporated.
Pour mixture to medium non-reactive saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until curd reaches a thin sauce-like consistency and registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
Immediately pour curd through chinois, or a fine stainless steel strainer, set over clean bowl. Stir heavy cream into strained curd. Immediately, pour curd into warm tart shell.
Bake about 10 to 15 minutes and check. Look for the middle 3 inches to slightly jiggle when shaken.
Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about an hour.
Remove outer metal ring. Slide thin metal spatula between bottom crust and tart pan bottom to release.
Slip tart onto serving plate to cut and serve. Garnish with whipped cream and fresh mint, if desired.
The most time-consuming part of making this tart is making the shell. Buy a high-quality one to cut hands-on time. Or, you use this foolproof recipe, adapted from America's Test Kitchen.
Sweet tart crust
Makes 1 9-inch tart shell
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into 32 cubes
Unbleached all-purpose flour, for rolling out.
Whisk yolk, cream and vanilla together in small bowl. Set aside.
In bowl of food processor, pulse to combine 1-1/4 cups flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about a dozen short pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture, using a rubber spatula to get all of it, and process until dough just comes together in a ball, about 30 seconds.
Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk. Double-wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Unwrap dough and place in center of lightly floured sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Line tart pan with dough, leaving no overhang. Cover tart pan with plastic wrap and place in freezer for about 30 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and other rack to lower-middle position.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place chilled tart shell on cookie sheet; press 12-inch square of foil inside tart shell and fill with beans or ceramic pie weights.
Bake on lower rack 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time.
Carefully remove foil and weights by gathering edges of foil and pulling up and out.
Transfer cookie sheet with tart shell to upper rack and continue to bake until shell is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
Note: If dough feels too firm to roll it out, let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes. If dough becomes soft and sticky while rolling, place it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes rather than add more flour.
Also, I made my tarts using four small tart pans rather than one 9-inch, which required cutting baking times slightly. I baked the smaller tarts for 15 minutes on the lower rack, rotating half-way. Then, finished them in 5 minutes on the upper rack.
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