Citrus Sabayon Tart Recipe

Why Is This Tart So Delicious?

What’s better than a buttery/crumbly square of shortbread topped with a layer of tangy fruit curd?

A slice, that’s what.

Especially when the crust is buttery and delicious and the perfect foil to a cool, tart citrus filling. Perfection!

This tart takes full advantage of the wonderful buttery crust and presents it in a 1:1 ratio with the light and fluffy sabayon filling.

If you’d like, you can even bake this in a square pan and cut it into squares.

Difference Between a Sabayon and a Curd

Traditionally made with wine as the liquid, sabayons are thick and foamy while curds are just thick–no bubbles.

While the liquid in a curd is citrus juice versus alcohol, the two are fairly similar. The main difference is in the way you make them.

Whisk a sabayon over a double boiler (or direct heat if you’re feeling daring) to incorporate as much air as possible.

Stir a curd constantly to keep it moving, but there’s no need to aerate it.

Yeah, there might be a little bit more sugar in one than the other, but maybe not.

I liked the light foaminess of the sabayon against the crumbly crust, but a smooth, dense curd would be just as delightful.

The rule is: make what you like. A few minutes in a 350F sets either up so it’ll slice beautifully.

Ingredients

I love a recipe where a short ingredient list pays off in big flavor. This tangy citrus sabayon tart is one of those recipes.

Here’s what you’ll need for the crust:

• butter: carries the flavor. Blending the butter into the flour mixture ensures a crumbly short crust and minimal gluten development
• sugar: provides sweetness and assists in browning. Sugar also keeps the dough from being too dry.
• salt: brings all the flavors into focus
• all-purpose flour: provides the bulk and structure for the crust. All-purpose is your best choice here, so don’t substitute cake flour or bread flour.
• vanilla: provides a mellow, floral note that complements the tangy filling
• fennel pollen (optional): This is for sure an optional ingredient. It’s hard to explain what fennel pollen brings to the party. It tastes of fennel and flowers. As an aside, it’s also lovely sprinkled over finished savory dishes. It adds a little…something…that is really quite lovely

And here’s what you’ll need to make the filling:

• citrus juice: I used a combination of ruby red grapefruit juice, orange juice, lemon juice, and key lime juice. You can use all of one or mix them up as you see fit
• salt: salt not only focuses your flavors, but it also acts here to counteract any bitterness from the citrus juices
• grapefruit and orange zest: brings the floral citrus notes that juice alone does not. Feel free to use lemon zest, lime zest, etc–any combination will work
• sugar: adds needed sweetness and adds body to the sabayon, because when it dissolves it turns into a syrup
• eggs: adds richness and structure. The eggs are what make this tart set up. And since you cook them while you’re whisking over heat, it also sets the bubbly foamy structure, sort of like making a meringue but with whole eggs
• egg yolks: adds additional richness, a silky mouthfeel, and emulsifiers to keep the sabayon from separating
• butter: provides a touch of mellowness and also allows the tart to set up more firmly under refrigeration

Procedure

The crust is super easy to make.

All you have to do is put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball.

Note it may take some time, but it will happen, so just keep at it.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can combine everything in a bowl and use your fingers to smush everything together into a stiff dough.

For the Filling

The filling takes a bit more work to make, but the steps are not hard:

1. Put the butter into a glass bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over the top.
2. Put all the rest of the filling ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Heat over medium to medium-high heat, whisking constantly. The mixture will lighten in color and about double in volume.
4. One it thickens up which will happen pretty quickly once it gets hot enough, pour the filling through the strainer into the butter.
5. Whisk to incorporate.
6. Pour the filling into the pre-baked crust, filling it almost to the top.
7. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes to set the filling.
8. Cool and then chill before serving.

Pro Tips for Success

PRO TIP: Freeze the formed tart shell for 30 minutes before baking. This will help it to keep its shape in the oven.

PRO TIP 2: The recipe makes more filling than needed for the tart. Pour the excess into a jar and give it to a friend. It will keep for about a week in the fridge.

If you have questions about this post or recipe, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can leave a comment on the post and I will get back to you within about 24 hours.

If your question is more urgent, please shoot me an email, and I will respond within 4 hours, unless I’m asleep.

A Note About Measurements

NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids.

Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.

This is the scale I use, love, and recommend. If you’re unsure, please read my post about how to use a food scale.

And there you have it, friends. I hope you love this lemony sabayon tart as much as I do.

Thanks for spending some time with me today. Take care, and have a lovely day.