As I ruminated on the idea of a late-winter tart, my mind turned to seasonal fruits, and I thought of the trees in my neighborhood, still laden with lemons and oranges. Incorporating citrus into my new tart seemed a given-- but how to take it in a new direction? Then I thought of my favorite wintertime cocktail, the Hot Toddy, and the idea for my new tart took shape. I researched the history of the drink, learned of its probable origins in Scotland, and all at once, I had my tart crust--shortbread cookie. I prefer brandy in a Hot Toddy, and so the brandied sugar topping for the shortbread crust was born. I wanted the bright flavors of fresh lemon, similar to the last- minute squeeze of the fruit into the cocktail, and so I decided to work the lemon into a whipped cream, to be used to top the tart. And finally, I knew I would need to highlight tea. This posed some problems. In earlier iterations of this tart, as I tested different ideas, the tea always came through too faintly. Finally, taking a page from Burma, and one of my favorite dishes from that cuisine-- tea leaf salad-- I decided to soak the tea leaves in lemon juice and then incorporate them into the shortbread, in addition to working prepared tea into the whipped cream. <br /> <br />You will find the resulting tart below-- inspired by the iconic wintertime, fireside Hot Toddy cocktail, this tart showcases a crunchy brandied sugar topping, layered over a tea-leaf shortbread cookie crust, and topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, infused with all the flavors of the cocktail.

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