Margarita Tart

I got the idea from the Guy Fieri show last week. He did a "Tequila Lime Tart" and I thought that looks good! As usual I can't stay in the lines and do a recipe the way it was presented. This one got the wheels turning...why its almost the same flavors as a margarita. All that is missing is the hint of orange in the back to be a margarita.

I looked at the recipe a little closer and decided it needed to be a little limier too. So I opted to add in 1/2 t lime zest. And then I decided...hmm let's go for the Margarita profile and added in 1/2 t orange zest. Tasty stuff was the result for Bill and Stacey's Carne Asada BBQ tonight.

Margarita Tart
For the crust: 10 ounces vanilla wafers 1/3 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup butter, melted

For the filling: 2 egg whites 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup tequila 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
½ t lime zest
½ t orange zest
4 egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Fresh whipped cream, for serving

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Add wafers and pine nuts to food processor, pulse until well ground up. Pour into bowl and add melted butter.
Mix by hand, with a wooden spoon, and press into 10-inch tart pan. (reserve 4 tablespoons of crumbs to sprinkle on top when done baking.)

Place tart pan in the oven and bake for 8 minutes.

For the filling:

In a mixing bowl add egg whites and sugar, beat until there are soft peaks.
In another mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Fold in the egg whites. Pour into tart shell and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Let cool before cutting and serve with fresh whipped cream.

Now for some of the tips and things I have learned over the years. Always bring your ingredients to room temp. Things mix better and actually let the flavors blend better than if you just pull them out cold.
Always make very certain your egg whites are at room temp. Always beat in a copper bowl. I don't understand the chemistry behind it but there is a reaction between the copper and the egg whites that allows them to incorporate more air. A pinch of tartar will help stabilize them as well.

When folding beaten egg whites into the base flavor mixture which is always much denser start by adding 1/2 your whites to the base and fold that in. When it is well incorporated you can pour that into the remaining whites and fold them in. This tempering allows you keep maximum air in the mixture while still getting it well mixed.

Bake your shell by putting it onto another sheet pan. This protects the bottom from cooking to fast. It also will catch any filling dribbles or boil overs and prevent a mess on the bottom of your oven. Lastly, doing that makes it easy to put the full shell into the oven without spilling as well as getting out easy without sticking your finger into the baked filling.