When I asked my Aunt what flavor birthday treat (cupcake) she wanted for her birthday and when she said lemon I thought I'd be hard pressed to find a lemon anything in September. I warned her that lemon is more of a Springtime and Summertime flavor...luckily chocolate was her second choice because that flavor is year round. I was super excited to see that Susie Cakes has lemon cupcakes on their menu but low and behold, when I got to the sidewalk outside of the store (yay COVID times!) lemon cupcakes were not on the limited COVID menu (yay COVID times!). So I got her one of their flourless chocolate cupcakes and she loved it (flourless chocolate cake is the best kind of chocolate cake).
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Smooth Tartshop @ The San Francisco Ferry Building
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The very next day after getting tested for COVID (again) I decided to walk through the Ferry Building on my way home to see if there were any treats that tickled my fancy because that shit is stressful (yay COVID times!). I had to stop at Smooch Tartshop because: 1) it was open and 2) tarts!
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Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The two gentleman behind the counter were very friendly and helpful. They had on matching masks with Smooch tarts all over them, really cute, COVID compliant, low-key marketing! One of them started telling me about the tarts which were all on display in a little case. As I looked at all the mini tarts on display as he went into detail but I knew which tart I wanted right away. The one that most resembled a cupcake, naturally. As my luck would have it, that was the Lemon Ginger Meringue. LEMON!
Each tart is $6.50 or there's a sample pack that comes with 4 bite-sized mini tarts for $10. I was very tempted to go with the 4 pack so that I could try more flavors, but I stuck to my guns. The tart fit perfectly into the individually sized box they put it in and sealed it with a smooch sticker.
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Tart to-go from Smooch Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The lightly toasted meringue was still picture perfect by the time I got back home and I let it sit out over night to enjoy it in the morning with a cup of coffee.
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Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
It only felt appropriate to eat the tart by cutting little bite sized slices of it rather than take bites out of it, so that's what I did. I was a little worried that keeping it out over night might have ruined the consistency but the lemon curd was nice and thick as I sliced through it, the meringue hadn't melted and the crust didn't crumble one bit.
The lemon curd filling is everything you would want from a lemon curd filling, it's tartness hitting that tingly spot right behind your ears. The lemon overpowered the ginger, or maybe the ginger enhanced the lemon, either way I didn't taste any of the ginger kick but it was still delicious!
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Lemon Ginger Meringue from Smooch Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
In my brain meringue is made of marshmallows: it's fluffy, white and made out of sugar but meringue is not made of marshmallows. Even as I cut through it, I was worried it'd stick to the knife but it's not a tacky texture, it's a whipped one. As I sliced through it mess-free, I was surprised to see that the filling stuck to the knife more than the meringue on top of it did. It was light and sweet: the perfect counterpart to the rich lemon curd filling, it's sweetness waltzing with the sour as they melted together in my mouth.
While all three components of the tart had a noticeable freshness, the crust took the cake. It wasn't flakey or crumbly or dry, even after leaving it out over night! It's buttery goodness made me wish there was more of it, it was quite delectable.
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Lemon Meringue Tart from Smooth Tartshop
photo by Nikki DeMartini |
By itself, the lemon curd filling isn't rich but paired this with the sweet meringue and buttery crust, the whole mini tart in one sitting was almost too much, even for me.
Almost.
Treat yourself to a tart from Smooch Tartshop at the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero in San Francisco on Saturdays starting at 9am until supplies run out. They're also open for pick-up and delivery. All of their tarts are vegetarian and they offer some gluten-free options with custom orders, too. Organic ingredients are used as much as possible which is a quality you can really taste.
Now you know where to go for your lemony treats Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall!
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