My paternal grandfather had an entire wall of aquariums in his house. Every Sunday, I’d check the fridge for 7Up (because that didn’t exist at our house!) and then take my soda to the back room. I spent myriad hours doing nothing but sitting on the floor sipping my bubbly and watching fish swim infinite loops around their tanks with the gurgling of the filters as a gentle soundtrack to those afternoons. There are so many significant things, like birth dates or anniversaries, that I can barely remember, but I vividly recall these otherwise unremarkable afternoons.
When I posted a tart similar to this one on Instagram, it got a huge response. I was surprised because of the design’s simplicity, but, like memories, sometimes the most quotidian are the ones that stay with us.
1 baked Speculoos Cookie Crust
BLUEBERRY MINT CURD
2 cups (12 ounces/340 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
4 large fresh mint leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup (59 milliliters) fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (½ stick/57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the blueberries and 1 tablespoon water in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst and start to break down, about 10 minutes. Using a silicone spatula, press the berries through a fine-mesh sieve, extracting as much puree as possible. Scrape the puree back into the saucepan and discard the pulp. Set aside.
3. Blitz the sugar, mint, and lemon zest in a food processor until no large pieces of mint remain. Uncover the food processor, inhale deeply, and pause for a brief moment of aromatherapy.
4. Pour the lemon mint sugar into the saucepan with the blueberry puree. Add the lemon juice, eggs, egg yolks, and salt and whisk well. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture is warmed through. Add the butter gradually and stir until all the cubes have melted. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick enough to coat a spatula, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the corners of the saucepan.
5. Remove from the heat and strain the curd through the fine-mesh sieve.
6. Keep the tart shell in the tart pan and place it on a baking sheet. Pour the curd into the tart shell, smoothing the surface.
7. Bake the tart for 5 minutes, just to set the filling.
8. Cool completely before decorating.
KIWI SCALE DESIGN PROCESS
2 or 3 firm green kiwis
2 or 3 firm golden kiwis
1-inch circle cutter
Paring knife
Ruler
1. Peel the kiwis and cut crosswise into ⅛-inch slices. Using a 1-inch circle cutter, punch out 36 shapes from the kiwi slices. Cut each kiwi circle in half to produce two identical semicircles.
2. Lay a ruler horizontally across the tart, ½ inch below the top edge. Starting from the left, place a golden kiwi semicircle on the surface, aligning the straight edge with the ruler. Next, place a green kiwi semicircle adjacent to the first kiwi, also aligning the straight edge with the ruler. Continue placing kiwi pieces in a line, alternating between gold and green, until the entire row has been completed. You may need to cut the kiwi pieces down to size to fit the remaining space at the end of the row.
3. Move the ruler ½ inch below the first line of kiwis to use as a reference for row 2. Place a golden kiwi semicircle such that the center of the round edge touches the point where two semicircles in row 1 meet. The straight edge of the newly placed kiwi piece should still align with the ruler. Continue placing kiwis in this fashion, alternating between green and gold, to complete the second row. Move the ruler ½ inch below each kiwi line to set up for the next row. Repeat the process until the entire surface of the tart has been covered.
4. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This tart is best consumed within 2 days.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTIONS
Crust alternatives: Coconut Pecan Crust, Basic Tart Pastry Shell
Topping alternatives: Mango, papaya, pineapple, dragon fruit, strawberry
NOTE
Snack on the kiwi scraps or freeze for future smoothies!