passionfruit and blueberry cream tart

Hi hi!

I've been in New York for nearly two weeks, and I am ready to make some lists.

Things That Are Awesome About Living in New York
- The subway system. It's so much better than all the jerks from Google/Facebook who offer to pay $1000+ more than the Craigslist asking price and/or pay the first 6 months rent in cash upfront. Not even joking. San Francisco needs to go.

Things That Are Not Awesome About Moving
- I don't know where anything is yet. Where do I find the best croissant in NYC? Where do I get my groceries? Where's the best farmer's market? Where do I get my hair cut for not a crazy price? Where do I buy Is the cronut still a thing? All you New Yorkers, HELP ME.

- My new (temporary) oven is scary and weird and European and I don't understand it.

- I still haven't unpacked any of my stuff. And I'm probably not going to until we get our own place. Because I don't want to pack up all 24 boxes all over again. Literally all my baking stuff is not very accessible at the moment, and I have not baked anything since I left the west coast.

Luckily, I have a smattering of recipes that I prepared* in San Francisco for you loyal readers!

*Because of course, when I say "prepared", I really mean "the desserts I frantically baked two weeks before I moved from ingredients I was panic-purging from my fridge/freezer/pantry", ehem.

Some of those leftover ingredients were a couple of passionfruits (leftover from this passionfruit curd pie) and some passionfruit puree (leftover from these passionfruit curd donuts), enough to make this pretty tart! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll be familiar with my undying love for Tartine Bakery's lemon cream tart recipe and my dedication to using it as a base for many other dessert variations (see: lemon and coconut pie jars, fresh fig and lemon tart). This passionfruit cream tart is another one to add to that repertoire — it's basically that lemon cream tart recipe I love so much, but made with passionfruit juice instead of lemon juice! The end result is less tart than the regular recipe, but equally creamy, delicious, and flavorful. Also, I topped that shiz with blueberries because I have been intrigued by the passionfruit and blueberry flavor combo ever since Sam posted a heatproof rubber spatula to stir in the flour. As you do this, the mixture is also going to bubble and smoke, but trust the recipe! It works, I promise. The end result is a dough that pulls off the sides of the bowl and looks a little bit like a lump of mashed potatoes.

Once the dough is cool enough to touch, transfer the ball of dough into an 8-inch tart pan. Use the back of your hand to flatten out the dough onto the bottom of the pan, and your fingertips to mold the dough up into the corners and sides of the pan. It's going to feel really greasy and kinda unpleasant, but go with it. Once the tart dough has covered the pan completely, use a fork to poke several holes into the crust.

Bake at 410 (F) or until the crust is light brown and starts to appear flaky around 15 minutes. Remove carefully from oven and let rest on a wire rack.

For the Passionfruit Cream Filling:

1. Pour 2 inches of water into deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place over medium heat, and bring the water to a simmer.


2. Combine 6 tablespoons passionfruit puree, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, 3/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a glass bowl. Place the glass bowl over the saucepan containing the simmering water to create a double boiler, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk until the mixture becomes very thick and registers 180 (F) on a quick-read digital thermometer. As you're whisking, be sure to never let the egg yolks and sugar sit together for more than a moment without stirring – the sugar will cook the yolks and turn them granular! Don't let that happen, or your tart will be weirdly textured and I will cry for you.


3. After the mixture reaches 180 (F) (after around 10 to 12 minutes), remove the bowl from over the water and let cool on a wire rack to 140 (F), stirring gently from time to time to release the heat.


4. Once the mixture reaches 140 (F), use an immersion blender to blend 1 cup unsalted butter a few cubes at a time into the lemon curd. Blend well after each addition of butter and make sure the cubes are fully incorporated before adding the next few pieces. As you add more butter, the cream will start to turn into a pale yellow with take on a thick, opaque texture.


5. Once the butter has been fully incorporated, cover the surface of the lemon cream with a layer of plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Assembly:

1. Once the passionfruit cream has chilled for a few hours and you're ready to serve the tart, use a rubber spatula to carefully pour the mixture into the prepped shell, smoothing out with an offset spatula so that it spreads around the tart pan evenly. Decorate with 1 pint fresh blueberries and serve immediately.

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