Classic Lemon Tart

 

Hi everyone 🙂

I have to say it’s so weird when I come on here because I know when I am saying “Hi Everyone”, I should really be saying “Hi No-one!” and I am really walking through these recipes to myself, which is weird because I already know them…..duh! Only my family have seen my ‘baby blog’ as it’s still a work in progress….(like I’ve given birth to a baby but haven’t left the hospital yet) however I still feel like I have to say “Hello” because maybe, just maybe in the future someone will look at this recipe. It’s like I have developed some imaginary friends and we’re in an imaginary secret baking club or something, hoarding recipes….haha. Actually the other day Master 9 suggested I get an imaginary friend because I am always talking to myself when we are in the car, lol.

Anyways imaginary peeps a friend gave me a heap of juicy Meyer lemons so of course I had to make a lemon tart! This is the recipe we were given at pastry school and it’s very nice (well I think so anyway). It makes one large, round tart – 26 cm W x 2.5 cm D.  I always use tins with loose bases for mine, it’s a thousand times easier, when cooled you can just pop the tarts out by pushing the base up from underneath and then just slide them onto a plate.

The Lemon Tart  (or ‘tarte au citron’) originated in the Mediteranean but France has a town called Menton (on the French Riviera) that is famous for it. Menton has a yearly lemon festival (cool!) where Lemon Tarts are made in abundance. Check out these images from the Menton Lemon Festival….AMAZING! I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it!

Tarte au citron a Sweet Short Crust Pastry case (usually made in a fluted tart tin of any size) that is filled with a lemon filling and baked on a low heat until the filling is set. Some people like to fill the pastry case/shell with pre-made Lemon Curd and then leave it to set.

 

INGREDIENTS

5 medium-sized eggs
200 grams castor sugar
3 medium-sized lemons / you will use the zest of one and the juice of all three (it pays to have a few more extra just in case they are too small or not very juicy)
125 mls fresh cream

x1 – 26 cm W x 2.5 cm D round sweet short crust pastry shell – The recipe is here and when making Lemon Tarts I add the zest of 1 lemon to the pastry when I am making it (you’ll see when to do this in the pastry recipe).

Optional – 1/4 teaspoon citric acid

 

Note

• I start to prepare the pastry shells first and then during the pastry’s first resting period in the fridge I make the filling and then I put the filling in the fridge so it is ready to go when the shell is cooked. I like to put the filling in the shell whilst it’s still hot because it seals the pastry.

WALKTHROUGH

So then to begin the filling, place the eggs and the sugar in a medium-sized bowl.

Whisk together until they are well combined and frothy.

Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice…..

…and the cream, whisking all together until combined.

Next pour the mixture through a sieve into another bowl or a large jug to get rid of any yukky eggy bits or missed pips.

Stir in the lemon zest (and the citric acid if you want it to taste nice and tart) and place the mix in the fridge until you have a cooked pastry shell ready to pour it into.

So when your pastry shell (still in the tin) is ready and still hot from the oven turn the oven temperature down to 120 degrees/fan-bake oven or 150 degrees/conventional oven, on bake and still with the rack near the centre of the oven.

• You can see in the below pic where I added extra dough to areas that I found were thinner than the rest. This is fine and you can’t see it when the tart is finished of course.

Give your lemon filling a gentle final stir and then carefully pour the lemon tart filling into it and place the shell back into the oven, baking it for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes (and the filling should be ‘just’ firm to touch in the centre), carefully remove the tart from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool down completely before removing from the tin.

Traditionally, when cooked, you sprinkle sugar over the filling (I prefer castor sugar) and caramelise it with a little  blow torch. I wanted to do that to this one but when practising on a little tart the blowtorch ran out of gas! 🙁

Bring out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving and serve with any of these things: Whipped Cream, Raspberry Swirl Cream, Raspberry Coulis, berry compote, ice-cream or fresh berries.

It looks great garnished with things like dusted icing sugar, mint, angelica, borage flowers, berries and candied lemon zest or slices.

Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Go HERE if you’d like to make some cute little Lemon Tartlets for High Tea or a Garden Party or HERE for the recipe for some individual round Lemon Tarts that are the perfect size for dessert.