Tarte au citron

Hello, 


Another long delay between blogging but I am trying to improve and possibly more importantly - trying to remember to write down what I do/cook/learn rather than just drink it all in without a second thought for the joys of the world wide web. 


So - Tarte au Citron or as I like to call it Lemon tart - home made lemon curd piled into a homemade short crust pastry case and topped with candied lemons. 


Now credit where credit is due the inspiration behind this post is one of the Guardian newspapers best food writers. She is called Felicity Cloake and has the enviable job of researching, cooking and most importantly tasting some of the best food on the planet. 


The recipe! [based on the one by Felicity Cloake but with a few tweaks]

For the pastry:
180g plain flour
90g caster sugar
90g unsalted butter, diced or margarine
Cold water - enough till it binds into a workable ball

Zest of a lemon

For the filling:
4 unwaxed lemons
275g caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten 
300g unsalted butter

1. To make the pastry, put the flour, lemon zest and sugar in a food processor and pulse briefly to mix. Add the diced butter and pulse until well combined. With the motor running, add the water and continue to mix until it comes together into a dough. Remove, shape into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for about an hour, until pliable but not sticky to the touch.

2. Preheat the oven to 190C. Roll out the pastry until about ½cm thick, and use to line a greased 22cm fluted tart tin. Line with greaseproof paper and baking beans, and blind bake for about 15 minutes until golden, then remove the paper and beans and brush the base with egg white. Put back in the oven for another 8 minutes, then remove and turn off the oven. (This acts as a varnish and stops all out war between a dry pastry base and a very wet lemon curd resulting in soggy pastry)

3. To make the filling, finely zest the lemons into a heatproof bowl, add 225g caster sugar and rub together with your fingers. Stir in the eggs and the juice of 3½ lemons, and then set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Heat, whisking gently but continuously, until it thickens to the texture of lemon curd: this should take about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, leaving the pan where it is, and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the butter and process with a blender until smooth. Scoop into the tart case, smooth the top and allow to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, cut the remaining lemon into thin slices and remove the pips. Soften in the pan of simmering water for 10 minutes. Dissolve the remaining 50g sugar in 50ml water in a wide pan, and bring to the boil. Add the lemon slices and simmer for 10 minutes or until the lemon slices change from yellow to a syrupy gold (you may need to add more water. Make sure you only candy your lemon slices when everything else is ready otherwise they cool and stick to anything - bottom of pans, work surfaces, you etc), then remove with a slotted spoon and arrange on top of the tart. Brush with the remaining syrup, and allow to set before serving.

Thanks for reading! 


Jon