Lemon Tart

As you can probably tell by now, I love the flavour of lemon and lemon tarts was one of the first desserts I perfected. I love that sweet and tart flavour of the lemon curd with the crunchy tart crust, all served with a whipped cream! Lemon tart is a sophisticated dessert and really perfect for those who can appreciate the flavour of lemon. 

Preparation Time 20 minutes 

Cook Time 40 minutes 

Chill Time 40 minutes 

Set Time and Chill 2 hours 

Yield 1 x 9 inch tart

Serves 8 

Ingredients 

Crust 

1 1/4 cups/ 150 grams flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup/ 113 grams butter- cold and cubed 

1/4 cup/ 50 grams sugar 

2 tablespoons/ 10 ml heavy cream 

1 egg yolk 

Curd 

1/2 cup/ 120 ml fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest 

1 cup / 200 grams sugar 

4 eggs 

2 egg yolks 

1/2 cup butter- cubed 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbXcHbJs5mM

Instructions 

1. For the Crust: whisk the yolks and cream together until smooth. Place the flour, salt and butter in a food processor. Blitz a couple times. 

2. Add the butter and blitz a couple times until the butter looks pea sized. Add the egg mixture and blitz only until it begins to come together. 

3. Dump the mixture out onto a clingfilm lined counter top. Bring the dough together for form a disk, but do not knead it. Wrap it up in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes to an hour. 

4. Once the crust dough is chilled, roll it out into a 10 inch circle. Press the circle into a 9 inch tart pan. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes. Prick the base with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the base and then fill it with pie weights.

5. Preheat the oven to 180c. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 170c. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper from the base and cool the base for 10 minutes. 

6. For the curd: whisk the eggs and yolks until smooth. Set it aside. 

7. Place the zest, juice, butter and sugar in a medium pot over a medium heat. Stir often until the butter is melted and the mixture begins bubbling. Remove it from the heat and slowly drizzle this sugar mixture into the eggs while mixing vigorously. 

8. Pour that back into the pot and place it over a low heat. Whisk it constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. It should be around 170f. The curd is done once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

9. Strain the curd into a bowl and cover the surface of the curd with clingfilm to prevent a skin from forming over it. 

10. Pour the curd into the tart shell. Smooth it over with an offset spatula and bake it at 180c for 10 minutes until just set. 

11. Chill the tart in the fridge for 2 hours. Slice and serve.