A really fun perk to having kids is rediscovering all the wonderous things from childhood. (Ask me anything about dinosaurs, I probably know the answer.)
And the holidays that you totally skim over as an adult (unless you’re in university and use any excuse to paint your face and drink too much beer) become exciting again when experienced through the eyes of little ones. As a grown-up, you say Saint Patrick’s Day and I say Guinness. Irish Cream. Lamb stew. Garish (yet delicious!) green frosting.
All good things (though not in the same mouthful), but I’d completely forgotten about the more enchanting details like leprechauns and pots of gold and four-leaf clovers and the story of Saint Patrick himself (apparently he banged a drum and scared all the snakes out of Ireland, did you know that??).
When I was a kid, I got unreasonably, can’t-sleep-the-night-before, plan-for-weeks excited for all the holidays, no matter how minor. Thank god that was before the internet, if I’d known about the International Ice Cream/Pizza/[Insert Other Food Here] Days that crop up weekly, my little brain might have short-circuited.
I want to inject the fun and magic I remember into my own kids’ lives now, too. I’m not super Pinterest-y with hours to sink into DIY projects, but I do attempt two things for every occasion. The first is free! The public library. We check out seasonal books every month, it’s really fun to read stories about the holiday. And the second is really cheap! The dollar store. We get cheesy decorations, cookie cutters, pins for our clothes, stickers, little toys and games – a grand haul for under six bucks. We all get really into it. (And by that, I mean I get really into it, my older kid jumps on the bandwagon – a bit confused about what mommy’s going on about – and the baby feeds off the excitement and starts running in circles, probably with a dangerously small shamrock decoration in his mouth. The husband tolerates the chaos. Kind of.)
I would love to have small, low-key kids’ parties for things like St. Paddy’s Day and Easter, but man who’s got the energy for that with an 18-month-old, a 3-year-old and a job (or even without the job, jeez). Maybe next year.
All that to say, I made this lime and kiwi tart to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a secondary shout-out to Pi(e) Day, which is tomorrow (3.14). Two holidays with one pie!
I saved the scraps from my tart dough and rolled them out to make shamrock shapes with my dollar-store cutters. I baked them alongside the tart for about 6 minutes. I used the same cutter to make shamrock-ish shapes from my kiwi slices. The lime curd is decidedly more yellow than green, which I knew would be the case. If you want it greener, you could add a touch of food colouring and I wouldn’t judge you. Especially because I just discovered this set of natural food colours for $6.99 all derived from vegetables and spices. I’ll be ordering that.
Theo (3-year-old) loved cutting out the shamrocks and dreaming about searching the park for leprechauns. We live downtown – I’m scared instead of a pot of gold, he’ll find just pot. (At least it’s green? ?)
This recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Dessert of the Day.
Kiwi & Lime Curd Tart
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk and white separated
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp ice-cold water
For filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- Finely grated zest of 3 limes
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice from about 5 limes
- 4 large eggs
- 5 kiwis peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle butter over top and pulse until the butter pieces are no bigger than lentils. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk (be sure to reserve the white for the next step!), vanilla, and water. Sprinkle over the flour mixture and pulse a few times until mixture starts to form large clumps. Dump onto a parchment-paper-lined counter and gently press the dough together until it is cohesive. Form into a disk shape, wrap up in the parchment paper and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Roll the dough between two layers of parchment paper into a 12" circle and transfer to a 9 1/2" tart pan, gently pressing into bottom and up sides. Line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights (or dry beans). Blind bake the tart shell on the bottom oven rack for about 15 minutes, until it starts to look dry, then carefully remove pie weights and parchment. Continue baking until the crust is golden, 10 minutes longer. Lightly brush the inside with lightly-whisked reserved egg white (you won't need all of it) and continue baking for about 5 minutes more, until white is set shiny. Gently transfer to a wire rack and cool completely in the tart pan.
- To make the curd, bring the sugar, butter, lime zest and juice to a simmer over medium heat. In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Very slowly (a tiny bit at a time) stream about half the hot lime mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly, then slowly whisk this egg mixture back into the remaining lime mixture in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Press through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then chill completely (either by stirring it over an ice bath, or by refrigerating at least 2 hours).
- When crust and lime curd are both cool, pour the curd into the crust and top with kiwi slices.
very nice!
I’m now craving cinnamon buns! Merci!
Avec plaisir!
Avec plaisir!
Thanks for this recipe. I’m gluten free/casein free so I can’t enjoy these but my Grandpa will be so happy!
I baked these and they turned out great! Thanx!
Great! 🙂
lovin it
can you use active dry yeast? I don’t have enough of the quick rise….
You can, you just have to activate it in about 1/4 cup warm water first and reduce the liquid in the recipe by that much.
that should totally work!
Could you replace the cinnamon filling with a jam and cream cheese mixture? I made the cinnamon rolls, but would like to try something a bit different.
You’d have to try it and see! 🙂
You’d have to try it and see! 🙂
My never ending problem as been applied here. What if my dough never rises? By never I mean…It’s been at least 4 hours, and there is still no sign of it becoming any lighter.
Is your yeast old?? Is it warm enough where the dough is rising? Use fresh yeast, and let the dough rise in a cold oven with the light turned on – you should have absolutely no problem…
i tried this and the dough didn’t rise. any suggestions for the future?
I used rapid yeast but I put it in 1/4 cup hot water for couple minutes first., all yeast is best fresh. I never go by expiry date on the package, its never accurate.
Also I’ve followed the recipie perfectly and its never let me down both times I made them. My only solution would have to be the yeast your using.
Is your yeast fresh? Was it rapid rise? (If you used dry active instead, it needs to be activated in warm water before adding it). The room where the dough is left to rise should be warm and draft free – a turned-off oven with the light on is perfect.
made these amazing cinnamon buns last week and they were delish!! I’m always looking for new recipies and half the time they are never as good as people describe. But these were great!! Thanks!!
can you freeze them with the cream cheese glaze already on
does margerine work instead of butter?
NEVER! Well, maybe in theory. But it is no substitute.
I just found your recipe, can’t wait to try it! I love it when the house smells like cinnamon buns!
I made these for a party and I had people coming over to my apartment afterwards to eat the leftovers and they have been requested for a bridal shower!
BEST FUCKING THINGS OF LYFE!!!! <333333
I want to half the recipe, any thoughts on what to do with the large egg. It seems like it would be difficult to half that. lol
In general you can use “half” an egg by whisking it in a measuring cup and dividing that in two (about 2 tbsp of beaten egg is equal to 1/2 an egg). BUT for yeast recipes like this one, results aren’t guaranteed when you cut the recipe in half. I recommend making the whole batch and freezing half of them, they freeze well and reheat nicely at room temp or in the microwave.
Fantastic recipe! Made them a couple of weeks ago and doing it again today. But these need a quota. Only once a month from here on.
Can you make them in a 9×13 in dish?
Mine turned out amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this. 🙂
Well I found your wonderful site and your cinnamon buns look great. I tried this recipe today and my dough didn’t rise. I used the quick-rise yeast. I looked online at the companies web site and I think that I may have added butter and milk first and yeast last. Do you think if I had added dry ingredients first and then the warm butter and milk it would have activated the yeast or am I using the wrong yeast? I am not usually a baker but felt a little adventurous today! lol
Yum, I’m going to try these today as they look like the real thing. By the way, for those who have problems with the rising as I have many times in the past, I learned I was ‘killing’ the yeast by putting it into water that was too warm. Must only be ‘Lukewarm’ as in barely warm.
im going to try these tomorrow but im worried about the dough not rising. should i put the yeast in before the milk and eggs or after? also could i use all purpose flower instead of unbleached flour?
Soooooo good Awesome recipe!
Glad you liked!! 🙂
i will allways come back to this recipe..it turned out amazing! there was only one left for my breakfaste the other day! =)
Thanks, Ines!
I don’t see the measurements for the cream cheese frosting.
For Frosting:
4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract
I am having trouble viewing the entire ingredients list. Can you please tell me how much butter you spread on the dough, and the how much cinnamon and sugar is mixed for the filling. Thank you.
Thank you for letting me know… should be fixed now!
How much yeast are we supposed to use? it says 2 1/4 tsp (2 packages) but my package has that much in it already.
You’re right, Martina – it should be 1 envelope of yeast, 2 1/4 tsp.
how much brown sugar and cinnamon?
I have a random question! I watched your video and when you doing the filling, you are spreading it with your hands. I sprinkled the cinnamon/brown sugar mixture and didn’t have to spread. Did you do something different? My recipe also only made 16, lol, but I never get the yield’s right!
The filling definitely could be doubled as well. But they are delicious!
That’s just the way my mama always did it! Sprinkling is fine, as long as it’s even!
Made the buns as directed and they are excellent !! Will share the receipt with my daughter tomorrow , sent a sample home with her hubby tonight. Awesome ….Thank You
wow…these look delicious….
These are More then Amazing!! Made them & all I can say is OMG….So worth cheating on your diet !!!
I’ve never had luck with getting dough to rise but I really want to try these! May I ask, why the need to invert the pan immediately out of the oven?
It’s when the sugar is still hot and liquid, so they look their prettiest when flipped over.
Hi i like cheese
i make my own filling and have been looking so for a good dough recipe my kept drying up all hard but this dough came out perfect
these turned out awesome, the only complaint i have is it takes a loong time to make these, about an hour to prepare the dough, 2 hours sitting in the warm place, then 30 min rolling and applying the filling and cutting and placing into the greased pan, 45 min waiting for dough to rise and then, then we bake for 20 min. but its worth it. if anyone has issues with the dough rising, it could be that A: your yeast is old as mentioned below, or B: it could be that the place you have stored your dough is not warm enough for the yeast to come alive, i personally heated the oven for a min on 350F until i could feel it warming up, turned it off then placed my bowl inside the oven, it works for basement apartments or cold houses in the winter months. also C: your dough may not be covered all the way. happy baking!!
So glad I found this recipe again!
I’ve made these and omg, they are delicious!
Glad to hear it! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. I’m gluten free/casein free so I can’t enjoy these but my Grandpa will be so happy!
I baked these and they turned out great! Thanx!
Great! 🙂
I just found your recipe, can’t wait to try it! I love it when the house smells like cinnamon buns!
I made these for a party and I had people coming over to my apartment afterwards to eat the leftovers and they have been requested for a bridal shower!
BEST FUCKING THINGS OF LYFE!!!! <333333
I want to half the recipe, any thoughts on what to do with the large egg. It seems like it would be difficult to half that. lol
In general you can use “half” an egg by whisking it in a measuring cup and dividing that in two (about 2 tbsp of beaten egg is equal to 1/2 an egg). BUT for yeast recipes like this one, results aren’t guaranteed when you cut the recipe in half. I recommend making the whole batch and freezing half of them, they freeze well and reheat nicely at room temp or in the microwave.
Fantastic recipe! Made them a couple of weeks ago and doing it again today. But these need a quota. Only once a month from here on.
Can you make them in a 9×13 in dish?
Mine turned out amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this. 🙂
Well I found your wonderful site and your cinnamon buns look great. I tried this recipe today and my dough didn’t rise. I used the quick-rise yeast. I looked online at the companies web site and I think that I may have added butter and milk first and yeast last. Do you think if I had added dry ingredients first and then the warm butter and milk it would have activated the yeast or am I using the wrong yeast? I am not usually a baker but felt a little adventurous today! lol
SOOO GOOD!!!! <3
Yum, I’m going to try these today as they look like the real thing. By the way, for those who have problems with the rising as I have many times in the past, I learned I was ‘killing’ the yeast by putting it into water that was too warm. Must only be ‘Lukewarm’ as in barely warm.
im going to try these tomorrow but im worried about the dough not rising. should i put the yeast in before the milk and eggs or after? also could i use all purpose flower instead of unbleached flour?