As a child, I was never that big a fan of citrus. Sure I enjoyed how the whole room would be filled with the fresh scent of my dad peeling oranges for the younger me, marvelling at the fact that the house felt like it was filled with sunshine. Yes, somehow I always associated oranges with the sunniest of days. Must be a subconscious effect of one of those bright sunshiny Sunkist ads I always used to watch on television. Other times I’d be busying myself with all things supersweet and sugar-laden, and oranges, limes and lemons would be mere nouns listed under the list of fruits that I could draw without reference.
It’s only recently that I have been acquainted with citrus fruits, particularly with regard to refreshing lemon/lime drinks that make this sweltering heat more bearable. But with the amount of delightful lemon recipes out there, it had certainly made it difficult for me to not scratch the itch of curiosity and thereafter, I found my dabble with lemon in baking much easier. And while I may not be all ready to jump on the citrus bandwagon just yet, I am taking little baby steps by infusing other flavours alongside them.
For those who actually thought I had baked key lime pies/tarts, sorry to disappoint you. This is actually a modification of a tart recipe I found, which called for a normal tart base filled with lemon curd. Since I did not have lemon curd at hand, I decided to flavour the tart itself with lemon and fill the tart with creamy Kaya jam, a coconut-based jam flavoured with pandan leaves.
