Here’s a great idea for serving orangeglo watermelon on a hot summer day. For watermelon tart you will need to make a cake-crumb crust, but it’s a no-bake method, so you can make it as quickly as you can freeze it — no hot oven required. Yields 8 delicious, 6-inch tarts.
No-Bake Cake-Crumb Crust
This recipe will yield more than enough cake crumbs. The excess crumbs can be stored in an airtight container for later use.
1 pre-purchased angel food cake (about 1 pound) to make 2 cups cake crumbs, sifted
6 tbsp unsalted butter
Milk to moisten
Chop the cake into small pieces and spread on a cookie sheet. Dry out in an oven preheated to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the cake begins to turn golden in color and is dry to the touch (about 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the weather). Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Chop to form a fine crumb in a food processor or grind in a mortar. Sift the crumbs to create an even texture.
Measure 2 cups of sifted crumbs and chop the butter into small, irregular pieces. Place in a food processor and process until a soft, even crumb develops. Pour into a deep work bowl and moisten with milk, just enough to form soft dough that can be handled easily. Press the dough into your tart pans with your fingers, from the center outward, until the pans are completely lined. Mold a decorative border along the rim of the pans, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least two hours.
Tart Filling
1 quart ‘Orangeglo’ watermelon (seeds removed), chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup puréed mango pulp or thick mango juice
2 tsp zest of lemon, grated
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Purée the watermelon, sugar, mango and lemon zest until thick and smooth. Beat the whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks, then fold in the watermelon mixture. Pour into the frozen crusts and freeze until the filling is set, but not frozen hard. Press a frozen watermelon ball into each tart, garnish with fresh lemon thyme and serve.
