Lemon Tart

Lemon is my second favorite flavor besides chocolate it's very tangy,making the sweet in the dessert that much better. Lemon tart is a classic recipe, with a million types of shortcrust pastry and lemon fillings, so far this combination is the one I like the most ,but feel free to substitute things for your own loved recipes. Using shortcrust pastry that doesn't require a food processor( which I hate to clean), instead you can use a stand mixer,hand mixer or even a fork and for the filling ,a lemon cream filling rather then a curd. I like my lemon tarts to be tangy and zesty so I add quite a bit of lemon juice,although you can add as much or as little lemon as you prefer. This is the type of dessert that I love to have during the warmer months with friends.

This is recipe is from Filling - Exclusively food Amanda & Debbie Pastry adapted from Masterchef AU

Ingredients 

Pastry 

- 90g Cold Unsalted butter 

-50g Caster sugar 

- 1 pinch Salt 

- Vanilla essence or bean seeds 

-1 Large Egg 

-180g Plain Flour 

Filling 

- 4 Large Eggs 

- 40g Butter cut into piece

-2/3 cup Cream (166 ml) 

-2/3 cup Lemon juice (166 ml)

-Zest of 1 Lemon

-3/4 cup Sugar 

Method 

Pastry

1. In a bowl cream the butter, sugar and salt till fluffy,add vanilla and beat. Next add the eggs, mixing til combined. Lastly add the flour (sifting is optional) and mix until it forms a dough.
2. Flatten slightly into a disc shape so its easier to roll later, wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for 2 hrs but for at least 30 mins if your in a rush. 
3. Take it out of the fridge, un-wrap it and flour the bench & dough lightly so it doesn't stick. With a rolling pin roll the dough so it is 2 cm wider all around the tins edges. If it breaks don't worry you can patch it together later. 
4. Place the dough into your tart shell, press it down slightly, fixing any cracks with the left over pastry. Trim the edges and prick the pastry with a fork. Place it in the freezer for 15-30 mins or 1 hr in the fridge. 
5. (The original recipe doesn't blind bake it but I found it puffed up to much. ) Blind bake- using beads or I use rice, placing a sheet of baking paper over the tart and putting the beads or rice in, filling the tin to the top 
6. Bake at 160C for 20 min or until golden. 
7. Take tart shell out of the oven, remove rice/beads and set a side 

Filling 

1. Start filling once pastry shell is finished 
2. Set a double boiler*, making sure the water is simmering not boiling. 
3. In the meantime place eggs in a heat proof bowl larger than the saucepan of water, and lightly whisk eggs then adding butter,cream,lemon juice,sugar. With a heatproof spatula mix until combine, don't worry about the butter at this stage. 
4. Put the bowl on top of the double boiler, mixing continually so the filling doesn't stick.Keep an eye on the water so it doesn't boil,just simmer. Continue to stir til filling has thicken, butter is melted and filling slightly sticks to the spatula (approx. 15-20 mins) 
5. Don't worry if you have white lumps in your filling, this tends to happen, but once the filling is thicken you are going to take it off the heat and strain it into the pastry case, smoothing the top.
6. Bake for 20 mins or until the tart is set around the edges with the center moving slightly when shaken lightly

Cool on wire rack and serve at room temp. or cold (I prefer it cold) with cream, dusting of icing sugar and grated lemon zest to decorate. 

Tips & Notes 

*The picture of the lemon tart is of it in the tart tin

* Double boiler is a saucepan filled with a couple inches of water that is at a simmer or boil, and with a heat proof bowl placed on top that is larger than the saucepan and DOES NOT TOUCH THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL when placed on top of the saucepan.

* If I feel like decorating I make the tart less tangy and make a lemon sauce with lemon juice ,lemon segments, sugar,little bit of salt and lemon zest heated on the stove till the sugar dissolves. All amounts depend on your taste buds, you can strain it or not your choice.Serve that last, pouring it over the tart. 

Also another way is to peel long strands of zest which have been soaked in a sugar syrup( 1 part water 1 part sugar heated ) and place a couple curled in the middle of the tart.
*You can leave out the icing sugar if you think the recipe is too sweet.I do this when I make a sweeter cake or cupcakes so it balances out the sweetness 

"They see me rollin' ! "