My kosher tart

I have a subscription to gourmet magazine. When the latest issue arrived, the cover was adorned with a delectable looking strawberry tart. I had been longing for an excuse to make this dessert while I was discussing the menu for passover dinner but the crust was made from a flour dough. I realized that with a few changes, I could make it kosher.

After a fruitless search for matzo flour (one of my only alternatives seemed to be a dusty looking matzo cake mix that my supermarket probably pulled from the storeroom where it had been living for years) I discovered a recipe for a matzo cracker crust- sort of a spin on the graham cracker crust with matzo crumbles, butter, and brown sugar.

I pulsed 9 matzos in the food processor (which for future reference, was too much) until they were pulverized, then added a stick of melted butter, and some brown sugar. I turned it out into a corning ware dish, and slowly worked it out with the back of a spatula until it was even. The recipe said that it should be baked in the oven for 10 minutes, though I gave it a little longer so it would set properly.


The filling of the cake was a pound of mascarpone cheese, whisked with some confectioners sugar, a tablespoon of lemon juice, some fresh zest, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I love mascarpone cheese, it's creamy and a bit tangier than cream cheese. The lemon and sugar balances it out perfectly.The cheese mixture is topped with a pound of fresh strawberries that have been tossed with a little bit of sugar, though if you find really lovely berries, you could use them as is. You then drizzle a port wine syrup on top of the berries. You can make it right before you serve the tart, simply reduce 3/4 cup of port with some lemon juice until you have 1/4 cup of liquid. Use as little or as much of the reduction as you'd like.

Here are the ingredients before I assembled the tart.


And After.


Although the crust did not set the way I would have liked it too, it was still the perfect dessert for a holiday that really is a celebration of spring. The crust was a bit crumbly, but it tasted good. My theory that if you add enough butter and sugar to anything panned out as well, since you couldn't tell that the crust was made from matzo.

You can see the original recipe in gourmet magazine HERE.