In that short overlap, we reconnected as friends from grad-school days and had a lovely evening together. We had just returned from long stints living overseas in separate regions and were both headed overseas to separate regions just weeks later. I went on my first “date” with my husband during the short overlap we had together in the U.S. The closer we got to Valentine’s Day, the more this lesson hit home for me. The result was a beautiful golden-orange lemon curd that seemed to gel so naturally and effortlessly: It was only later that it hit me: Isn’t this just like me, to fret so much about ruining the eggs that I end up ruining the whole darn thing? I went back to the stove, shed every fear of curdling the eggs and just went for it. I really began to berate myself for all my faults and shortcomings. It despaired me so much I thought I’d had enough of trying to create a lemon tart. Just like my caramel catastrophe of last year. Then: whooooosh! Lemon soup splattered all over the kitchen floor, uncurdled eggs and all.Īs I read and re-read Beranbaum’s recipe and all the rave reviews, I knew it was completely my error. When I took it out of the freezer it did look set, so I took a knife to cut a slice and brought it down through the middle. Hours later, my cooling lemon soup slopping around inside a coconut-shortbread crust despaired me I put it in the fridge, then the freezer, hoping it would somehow set. But maybe, I thought, it would gel more in the oven, or upon cooling. My lemon curd never quite set, even after double the time it was supposed to take. So I stirred and kept a watchful eye for steam and bubbles, and at any hint it might come to a boil, I would quickly reduce the heat and continue to stir. As I began heating up the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and butter in a saucepan, I heeded Beranbaum’s caution to not let it come to a boil or the eggs would curdle. I tried adapting the lemon bar recipe to a lemon tart and gave it a go. So I turned to acclaimed baking expert Rose Levy Beranbaum’s recipes and discovered the secret to her never-soggy lemon bars: a lemon curd, thickened on the stovetop and then baked briefly with the crust to ensure it sets completely. But I liked my coconut-shortbread crust creation and was dreaming of just the right lemon topping to complete it. And after a couple hours in the fridge it became lemon sludge in the middle. The first attempt was tasty but not the right consistency - too squishy. One not overly sweet, that let the tart lemons shine through, and with a buttery, crisp crust and a hint of coconut. I longed to sink my teeth into a lemon tart that was just set, not soggy, but squishy and smooth. And I will think of hardly anything except what terrible things might ensue if I did, by woeful accident, do X. In fact, I will be so careful to avoid X that I will also steer clear of Q, R, S, T, U, V & W for good measure. When someone tells me, “Make sure you don’t do X, or something bad will happen,” you can count on me not to do X.
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