After photographing the winter landscape for the past couple of months I was anxiously looking forward to capturing images of the early signs of spring with my camera. Optimistically and probably somewhat unrealistically, I headed up to northern Wisconsin in hopes of finding nature's early hidden treasures and gifts. Having not been up there at that time of year, my optimism was quickly met with a dose of north woods reality. Other than finding some early mosses, there was not an early spring flower or budding tree to be found. Instead, I came across beautiful shards of ice stacked up and lining the shores of the bay, glistening ice covered ponds and streams in the woods, perfectly freeze dried fruit still hanging from trees, and hundreds of wild turkeys roaming the soon to be tilled farm fields. Life was not giving me lemonade, it was giving me lemons. With camera in hand, I set out to explore places I had not yet been in order to capture as much of this 'first time seen, new to me' beauty as I could. And compared to the record setting bitter cold weather experienced on my last trip up there, temperatures in the low 40s and 50s felt downright balmy. Cold as one learns over time is all relative.
During what is considered the off-season, the state parks and nature areas are often rather desolate places in the winter and early spring. In the spirit of expressing concern for my safety one of friends asked if I watched shows like CSI. I don't was my answer, however, coming across a serial killer is far less of a concern than falling off the edge of a bluff while trying to get the 'perfect' photo. Considering I can sometimes get lost in the moment, the fear of falling is much more likely to dominate my thinking on these wandering expeditions. With an already over-active imagination, it would probably be somewhat of challenge to focus on the landscape if I watched crime scene shows. I can't imagine photographing the signs of spring at nurseries or places like Home Depot would be very much fun. But in all seriousness, walking through the woods was probably a little less risky and slightly less dangerous than going out for ride on a one-speed, reverse the pedals to brake bicycle. How did we ride those bikes, uphill no less, as kids?
But Home Depot it was this past weekend! Not to take photos but to pick up some of the early spring pansies for planting as well as for decorating the Lemon Curd Mousse Tart in a Ginger Cookie Crust. Edible flowers and/or fresh fruit adorning any tart or cake makes for a most beautiful finishing touch. With all of the chocolate eggs and bunnies making an appearance for Easter, I decided to take a risk and make a lemony dessert, thinking it might be both a refreshing change and end to the meal. The inspiration for this tart came from Bon Appetit, however, the only similarities between their recipe and this one was the use of homemade lemon curd and heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks.
I have shared two different lemon curd recipes on the blog. Either one will work, but because of its' ease I decided to use the one from the Lemon Curd Mousse and Blueberry Parfait recipe. Lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, eggs and a pinch of sea salt makes the creamiest, tartest, most delicious curd. It is so easy to make it is almost foolproof.
Zest first, squeeze second. In order to get 2/3 cup of fresh lemon juice you will need 4 to 5 lemons, however, you will only use the zest from 4 of them.
After cooked and cooled slightly, the lemon curd should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. It can be made early in the day or the day before. It needs to be chilled before assembling the tart.
A ginger cookie crust is the perfect compliment to a lemon curd mousse filling. A graham cracker crust is good but wouldn't deliver the same kind of taste experience this combination of flavors has.
Crushed ginger cookies, sugar and melted butter are mixed together and pressed firmly into a 9 inch removable bottom tart pan. After chilling the crust in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, it is baked in a preheated 325 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding the filling.
One and three quarters cup of the chilled curd is folded into one and a half cups of the whipped to stiff peaks heavy cream. The remaining curd will be used for the bottom and top layers of the tart.
After spreading a quarter cup of the lemon curd on the cooled to room temperature tart crust, the lemon curd whipped mixture is added. Use your imagination to decorate the top of the tart using the remaining lemon curd.
Unable to photograph any early spring flowers last week, I couldn't help but add them to the top of this Lemon Curd Mousse Tart in a Ginger Cookie Crust. Thankfully some spring flowers have finally arrived in the nurseries around here. I used (edible) pansies to decorate the top of the tart but you can use blueberries, blackberries or sugared lemon slices. Or you can leave it completely unadorned. The finished tart should be kept in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
This is one of those second helping kind of tarts (one slice doesn't seem to be enough). Once everyone tastes the lightness, creaminess, and tartness of the lemon filling along with the crunchy spicy ginger crust it will be one of those 'you will be forgiven for not making something chocolate' flavor combinations. And after having second helpings, no one here seemed to miss having a chocolate dessert brought to the table for Easter this year. Serving a lemony versus chocolate dessert turned out to not be such a risky decision after all.
Lemon Curd Mousse Tart in a Ginger Cookie Crust
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from approximately 4 lemons)
Zest from four lemons
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter), room temperature soft
pinch of sea salt
Crust
9 ounces ginger cookies, crushed (recommend Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Cookie Thins)
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Whipping cream
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Edible flowers or fresh fruit for garnishing
Directions
1. In a heavy bottom medium sized saucepan, beat eggs and sugar together.
2. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, and sea salt. Stir until all ingredients are combined.
3. On medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil (stir constantly). Note: Mixture should reach a temperature of 180 degrees (F).
4. Remove from heat, transfer to a heat proof bowl or jars. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top to prevent a crust from forming. Allow to cool before chilling in the refrigerator. (Note: Mixture will need to be well chilled before proceeding. Can make lemon curd early in the morning or the day before.)
5. Mix together the crushed ginger cookies, sugar and melted unsalted butter until well blended. Press firmly into a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Bake chilled crust for 12-14 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Note: Cool completely before filling.
8. Whip cream until it holds firm peaks.
9. Fold whipped cream and 1 3/4 cup of lemon curd together until well blended. Set aside.
10. Spread 1/4 cup of lemon curd on the bottom of the cooled crust. Top with blended whipped cream and curd mixture.
11. Using a squeeze bottle or pastry bag, create a design with the lemon curd on top of the tart.
12. Optional: Garnish with edible flowers or fresh fruit.
13. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Early spring images from northern Wisconsin.
