Lemon Saffron Custard Tart
 

Dessert! I don’t make much of that here, except for when I’m following a recipe for a cookbook review or trying something like this. So when I asked Jeff what he wanted me to make for Valentine’s Day and he said a lemon tart instead of something savory, I had to switch gears and step out of my comfort zone.

Which I was fine with. I just never quite get dessert right the first (or second) try, so I knew we were going to be eating a few batches of test custard before something clicked.

Lemon-Saffron Tarts
 

Thanks to awesome vegan products like Follow Your Heart’s VeganEgg and Miyoko’s Kitchen’s European Style Cultured VeganButter, I was able to make a creamy, tart and eggy custard, with a rich and buttery shortbread crust. The consistency you see in the custard here is a bit thicker than what the recipe below will produce, which is smoother and silkier, and kind of oozes and melts into the crimping of the shortbread crust.

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Lemon Saffron Tart

Lemon-Saffron Custard Tarts


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  • Author: erin wysocarski
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4, 4.75-inch tarts
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

for the shortbread crust

  • 1 1/2 cup AP flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup room-temp vegan butter Miyoko’s Kitchen’s European Style Cultured VeganButter
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp bourbon

for the lemon-saffron custard

  • 1, 13.66 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
  • zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup juice)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • a pinch of saffron, crushed
  • 1 TB Follow Your Heart’s VeganEgg
  • 1 TB cornstarch whisked with 2 TB cold water


Instructions

to make the shortbread crust

  1. Combine the flour and salt in one bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, cream together the vegan butter and powdered sugar. Add in the bourbon and mix again to incorporate. Form into a rough ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
  3. Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized portions. Press each portion into each of the 4 tart pans, pressing the dough down firmly and evenly as possible. Place them into the refrigerator to chill for 45 minutes more.
  4. Preheat oven to 350.
  5. Bake tarts for 20 minutes, or until the tops are very slightly golden. Transfer to a rack and allow to cool.

to make the lemon-saffron custard

  1. Whisk together all of the custard ingredients except for the cornstarch/water mixture.
  2. Bring the mixture to a small boil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture and continue to stir until it thickens up.
  3. Allow to cool, then pour into the tart shells.
  4. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Serve with aquafaba whipped topping and candied lemon or kumquat slices.

Notes

I used these tart pans to make this recipe.

I used this Martha Stewart recipe to make the candied lemon and kumquats.

I used this aquafaba fluff recipe from Seitan is my Motor.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Chill Time: 75 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Chilled, Whisked
  • Cuisine: American, French
Lemon-Saffron Tarts

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7 Comments

  1. DMO, sorry about the crust, it was a typo, and it’s been corrected. I’ve made the custard portion several times now based off of this recipe and it’s worked great, so I’m not sure what’s happening. Sorry it did not work out for you!