Passion fruit tart

If I had to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of my life (which would be a cruel thing given that there are so many wonderful sweets out there, not to mention the ones I have never tried nor baked at home, but...) it would be lemon bars – there’s nothing I crave more, the sound of the words makes me salivate already.
But a couple of weeks ago something came out of my oven that almost – and it was a really close call – stole the title of favorite dessert from the bars: this passion fruit tart, a recipe from the always breathtakingly beautiful Gourmet Traveller, turned out delicious, with its crisp, buttery base and tangy filling. Oh, so good.

Now, if I had to choose two desserts to eat for the rest of my life... ;)

Passion fruit tart
from the always so delicious and beautiful Australian Gourmet Traveller

Pastry:
225g unsalted butter, cold and chopped
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, sifted
2 2/3 cups (375g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
150ml heavy cream
200ml strained passion fruit pulp – I used some of the pulp with the seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar, for dusting

For the pastry, mix the butter, sugar, flour and salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg and vanilla and process just until a dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to 3mm thick and use to line six 8cm-diameter tart tins, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Line pastry-lined tins with baking paper, then fill with pastry weights or dried beans and blind-bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, but keep the oven on.
Filling: lightly mix together the eggs, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the cream, passion fruit juice and vanilla and then strain through a fine sieve into a jug. Pour the filling into the tartlet shells and bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set – the filling should still wobble slightly in the centre. Leave to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
Just before serving, dust the tarts with icing sugar and caramelize with a blowtorch or under a very hot grill.

Makes 6 – I halved the recipe above and baked it in a 30x10cm (12x4in) tart pan with a removable bottom