Kumquat. Kumquat. Kumquat.

It's a weird word.


I had only eaten one kumquat in my entire life previous to this weekend, in a grocery store in Austin, TX. It was... sour. Bitter. More peel than fruit. I didn't see the point. But I have always thought they were... well... cute.


Ah, but little kumquats... what to do with you? The obvious answer to douse them in sugar. (Which is probably my answer to far too many "problems")

Candied kumquats, it turns out, taste a lot like marmalade (go figure!) and are an excellent counterpoint to my new favorite lemon cream tart. Have you noticed that I am a little tart obsessed? (You might be correct in assuming it's because I can't make a pretty pie crust. Maybe.)




Lemon Cream Tart with Candied Kumquats
(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's excellent Baking: From My Home to Yours)
Ingredients1 pint of kumquats
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
pinch of sea salt

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell (you can use a dough shell, a shortbread crust - perhaps made from your leftover girl scout cookies and some melted butter - or even a crust made from a couple scoops of almond flour, a little sugar, and melted butter. Cook these press-in crusts for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until they are golden brown, then cool completely.)

Special Equipment: Instant-read thermometer, a strainer, blender, and double boiler (or a heat proof bowl that fits in a regular pot loosely.)

Procedures:
Candied Kumquats:

Wash the kumquats thoroughly and remove the little green stem bits (this occurred to me after it was too late, they get soft so it doesn't really matter, but the little green bits bugged me) Slice the kumquats into rounds and remove the seeds.




They pop out pretty easily, since they are so big and the kumquats are so small)



Bring 1 cup of water to a boil with one cup of sugar and pinch of salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add kumquat slices and simmer until fruit is soft, about 15 minutes.



Remove fruit with slotted spoon and return liquid to a boil, reducing by about half. Pour the liquid over the fruit in a bowl, and set aside to cool.

Lemon Tart:

Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in the pan of your double boiler

1. Put the sugar and zest in the top part of the double boiler. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

2. Put the top pan over the simmering water (make certain the water doesn?t touch the bottom) and cook, stirring with the whisk continuously until it reaches 180°F. Don?t stop whisking and don?t stop checking the temperature. Depending on how much heat you are using, this could take up to 10 minutes. Don't stop whisking! You will cook the eggs otherwise.

3. As soon as you reach 180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor) and discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going for another 3 minutes.

5. Pour the cream into a container with an airtight seal and chill for at least 2 hours. At that point, pour or spoon cream into prepared tart shell and smooth top. Chill for at least 2 more hours.

If you want it to be really firm, pop it in the freezer for an hour or so. I tried it both ways- I liked it better out of the freezer.

When ready to serve, top with candied kumquats.

This was really pretty good. I like the kumquats a lot better when they have been covered in sugar, and this tart was very very yummy. I think it would be a lovely Easter or Passover dessert (watching what crust you use of course) or for any other springtime meal, with whatever fruit you would like.