Real men do cook. And some of them do so very well. My friend and former colleague Mike is one of them. Mike is a married father of three boys and is one of the only guys I know who would rather go to a gourmet cooking class than to a pro football game. In fact, he is probably the only man I know who has asked for (and received) a creme brulee torch for Father’s Day. (Forget power tools; give that man a device to caramelize sugar.)
He’s a great guy and his cooking is even better. He broke in his new torch while preparing the following dish. To me Mike is a culinary genius and I am always happy to oblige when he asks me to be his guinea pig. If you make the following recipe you’ll see why.
CREME BRULEE TART WITH LEMON AND BERRIES
Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup powered sugar
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons butter, chilled unsalted, cut into cubes
4-5 teaspoons heavy cream
1 egg white, beaten
Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in processor, blend for 10 seconds. Pulse in butter until combined. Pulse again while adding the heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time, until moist dough clumps form. Remove dough from processor and form into a flatten disk. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out dough on a floured surface to fit a 12-inch tart pan. Press dough to fit pan using excess dough for the sides. Poke crust with fork to keep crust from rising. Bake crust until golden brown, approximately 16 minutes. Remove crust from oven and brush the inside immediately with egg white. Reserve.
Ingredients for Filling:
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoons lemon zest
Directions:
Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, cream, yolks, and eggs in bowl. Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest. Pour filling into warm crust. Bake until filling is set in center, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Sprinkle remaining sugar on top of tart. Using a crème brulee torch, melt sugar until caramelized. Allow topping to crisp before serving. Garnish with fresh berries and a twist of lemon zest.
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