#52WeeksofSweets: Winter Grapefruit Tart, Week 1

Join Forks and Folly in a year-long journey of desserts in our #52WeeksofSweets!  Kicking off with week one, we’ll be making a Winter Grapefruit Tart, with a saltine cracker pie crust.  Yum!

I’ve admitted more times than not that I’m not great in the dessert department.  Well, folks, that’s about to change.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  Definitely.  I’m about to embark on a dessert intensive year.  I pity my personal trainer.  And my waistline.

Welcome to…. #52WeeksofSweets.  Yup.  (Don’t judge that my 52 weeks isn’t starting with the calendar year.  I’m a procrastinator through and through.)

There are a few reasons why I’ve failed in my few dessert attempts over years past:

1. I hate to measure ingredients.
2. I’m not patient.
3. I prefer salty to sweet.
4. I prefer alcohol calories to dessert calories.

Sometimes, though, we’ve gotta make sacrifices.  The things you do for work.  Once a week, I’ll be trying out new dessert recipes, sharing my successes and my fails.  Trust me, there will be more than a few.

To kick off Week Numero Uno of #52WeeksofSweets, I picked a recipe that I thought would be perfect: a Winter Grapefruit Tart.  I luh-hove grapefruit! 🙂

The crust of our tart is a blend of saltine crackers (!!!), sugar, butter and chopped thyme.

The filling, which is a breeze to make, is a thick custard of fresh fruit juices, eggs and yes, more butter.

And, let’s be honest – the best part?  Besides the crust, there’s no baking!!!

I topped mine off with a plain old whipped cream.  Next time, however, I’ll be adding a splash o’ tequila in that cream for a paloma-like effect.  Who says you can’t have your cake and booze too?

Winter Grapefruit Tart

Yield:

Join Forks and Folly in a year-long journey of desserts in our #52WeeksofSweets!  Kicking off with week one, we'll be making a Winter Grapefruit Tart, with a saltine cracker pie crust.  Yum!

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Ingredients

• 1 sleeve Saltine crackers crumbs (pulse in a food processor)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 7 tb. butter, melted
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 cup grapefruit juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 drops red food coloring
• 1/3 cup butter, cut into four pieces
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 tb. powdered sugar
• Grapefruit slices

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Stir together crackers, thyme, 1/4 cup of the regular sugar, and melted butter.  Press into a greased 9" tart pan with a removable bottom.  Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden.
2. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch, salt and remaining granulated sugar in a medium saucepan.  Whisk in juices, egg yolks and red food dye.  Cook over medium whisking constantly, until boiling.  Whisk an additional minute until smooth and thick.  Remove from heat and whisk in butter.
3. Pour into prepared pie crust and refrigerate between 4 and 12 hours.  
4. Beat cream and powdered sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form.  Dollop on top of tart and serve immediately, garnished with grapefruit slices.