HOME TOUR

There’s just something about lemons. I loved them as a kiddo and still have a love affair all these years later. I remember lemon cookies and lemon bars, even a summer when my mom ordered these lemon Italian ice cups from the Schwans man. You’ve seen them sneak their way into lots of recipes on Finding Lovely from the Strawberry lemon crumble muffins to a lemon cake. Around this time each year, their sunny disposition and freshness are just appealing. For this Strawberry Lemon Tart I really wanted to mix pureed strawberry into the tart lemon filling for the color and the ability to add these cute strawberry “hearts” to the top. A little prelude to the pink cuteness of Valentine’s Day.

Rather than a traditional tart crust I opted to use my mom’s recipe which is just some simple ingredients: toasted walnuts, flour, sea salt and butter.  This was the base to her no-bake cheesecake which I’ll share someday. It smells heavenly as you bake the shell and I thought it would marry well with lemon. And it doesn’t disappoint.

INGREDIENTS

1 C Granulated Sugar

3 Eggs

1/2 C Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice, 2-3 large, juicy lemons

Zest of 1 Lemon

1/4 C Butter, melted

1 Cup Chopped Strawberries

5-7 Fresh strawberries (stems on which you’ll use to make the strawberry “heart” slices)

Crust:

1 C Salted Butter, room temperature

2 C All-purpose Flour

1 C Toasted and Finely Chopped Walnuts

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and toast walnuts until fragrant and lightly browned. Watch them, I burnt my first batch (distracted mom woes!). Finely chop the toasted walnuts and mix with flour and sea salt. Add very soft, room temperature butter to flour mixture and mix until dough comes together. Push using your palms into an ungreased tart pan. I ended up doubling my mom’s crust recipe because the tart pan felt large at 10″ and frankly, I love crust. You might get away with a half recipe for the crust if your tart pan is smaller and you like a thinner crust.

Par bake the crust at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes on a cookie sheet. While it is baking, zest one lemon and then squeeze your lemons (I needed 3 lemons to get about 1/2 cup of juice). Add sugar, eggs and melted butter.

In a blender mix 1/2 cup of the lemon mixture with fresh strawberries and blend until strawberries are fully pureed and you have a pretty light pink, lemon/strawberry mixture.

Pull out your crust from the oven and slowly pour in your lemon mixture. Subsequently add the strawberry/lemon mixture and swirl around with a knife. Slowly push your tart back into the oven and bake until set, 35-40 minutes.

And although the top came out bumpier then I would have liked (kinda like a lemon bar rather than smooth no-bake custard), it tastes amazing and the strawberry hearts and powdered sugar mask a bit of the bumpiness making for a beautiful presentation. It’s a yummy one.

To make the strawberry “hearts” cut a V into the top of fresh strawberries removing the stem and creating the heart shape when you thinly slice them. Layer them around your tart with peeled lemon zest dipped in granulated sugar, some light lemon zest and flurry of powdered sugar. A dollop of whipped cream finishes it off.

My sweet friend Ruthie of Ruth Eileen Photography captured these beautiful pictures and was an official taste tester. From home shoots to family pictures, reach out to Ruthie, you won’t regret her beautiful photography. I hope you enjoy this delicious tart.