A Moment For: Time & Temp’s Picture-Perfect Grapefruit, Meringue and Olive Oil Tart

“Thank you, Ed,” we all say in unison.

The dainty little tarts that have been a favourite weekend special at Albion’s Time & Temp were born through a series of coincidences.

“A few weeks ago, Manning [Young]’s brother, Ed, brought in some grapefruits from his backyard,” says Time & Temp baker Palita Cai. “The tree was full and he was hoping we could find some way to use them. They tasted like a blend of lemon and orange, with a sharp citrus note, pleasant sweetness, and almost no bitterness.”

Cai, who previously worked at Riser Bread and Melbourne’s Falco , immediately sprang into action.

“I wanted to showcase this unique flavour in the style of a classic lemon tart, and that’s how our grapefruit tart was born. It’s a fairly simple construction of pâté sablee (sweet shortcrust), grapefruit curd and Swiss meringue. It’s finished with a nasturtium flower, also from Ed’s garden, and Mount Zero bergamot pressed extra-virgin olive oil to enhance the aroma and texture,” she says.

What: Time & Temp’s grapefruit tart.

How: These exquisite tarts take two days to make. “On day one, we mix our pâté sablee with Wholegrain Milling Co sustainable flour, almond meal, icing sugar, eggs, and Pepe Saya cultured butter,” says Cai. Then they make the curd with “fresh grapefruit juice, eggs, butter, sugar and gelatine”. On the second day, they knead the dough, form sheets and cut them into tart shells to be blind baked. Then the shells are filled with curd and a dollop of Swiss meringue is piped on top – and there’s a little divot in the meringue which is filled with a little pool of olive oil. Then each tart is crowned with a nasturtium flower. And all that before they open for the day at 7am.

Cost: $12.40

Where: Time & Temp , 337 Sandgate Road, Albion.

When: It’s a weekend-only special. It’ll be available “until the tree runs out” of fruit, so roughly until the end of November.

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