Grapefruit & Gin Curd Tart with Lemon Thyme Cream Recipe

As much as we love drinking gin, there comes a time when we want to be a little different with it and that’s when we decide that the only sensible choice is to start baking with it! That’s when a friendly gin baker comes into his element. We sent him over our spirit of Cornwall box which includes two Tarquin’s gins and left him to his magic and he came up with this delicious recipe!

Grapefruit Curd Tart with Lemon Thyme Cream

Ingredients – Makes 4 x 10cm mini tarts or 1 x 20cm tart

Directions

1. To start, make the pastry cases by adding the flour, icing sugar, chopped lemon thyme and salt to a food processor and combine. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the chopped lemon thyme, egg yolk and water and pulse until the dough begins to come together.
2. Tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Wrap tightly in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until chilled.
3. Once the dough has chilled, roll out the dough to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Use a knife to cut out a circle of dough that is about half an inch wider than the bottom of your tart tin.
4. Press the dough into the tart pan and cut any excess from the top. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottoms of the dough, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
5. Preheat the oven to 160C and once the pastry case has chilled, press a sheet of foil onto the shells, and fill the foil with baking beads or dried rice.
6. Bake the shells for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown. Once baked, transfer the baked pastry case to a cooling rack and let cool completely before filling.
7. To make the curd, add the grapefruit juice and gin to a saucepan and set over a medium-high heat. Simmer until reduced by half then remove from the heat to cool.
8. In a bowl, combine the sugar and grapefruit zest and using your fingers, rub in the zest to combine and release the oils in the zest.
9. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the sugar and zest mixture with the butter until fluffy. Add the eggs and egg yolks and beat until combined. Add the cooled grapefruit juice and gin and mix well.
10. Add the mixture to a medium saucepan and set over a medium heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens and the curd coats the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer the curd to a bowl and refrigerate until cooled.
11. To assemble the tart, pour the curd into the pastry shell wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate.
12. To make the lemon thyme whipped cream, add the double cream, lemon thyme and icing sugar to a stand mixer and beat on high until thick. When ready to serve, scoop dollops of whipped cream onto the tart and garnish with a sprig of lemon thyme.

Remember to check out the GinBaker for more gin based recipes and we’d love to see photos if you make this or any other baked goods using gin, so make sure you either tag us on Instagram or on Facebook.