Lemon tart recipe
Serves 8
The ingredients
For the shortbread (and sweet) pastry
- 1 large egg
- 80 grams soft butter
- 100 grams sugar
- 200 grams white flour (wheat).
- 1 pinch of salt
For the trim
- 3 large eggs
- 4 lemons (untreated is best, otherwise rinse thoroughly).
- 15 grams Maïzena (family starch) or one tablespoon
- 125 grams cane sugar (or brown sugar).
The process
First make the dough:
1
Soften the butter by taking it out a little beforehand and cut into pieces.
2
It's best to sift your flour. Then take a bowl and put the flour in it. Add the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt and mix everything together.
3
Add the butter in wedges to the dry mixture, and start working the dough with your fingertips. When it's already a little set, add the whole egg and knead again with your fingertips. Your dough should be smooth and homogeneous.
4
Cover the dough ball with cling film or a clean tea towel and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5
Preheat the oven to 210°C (gas mark 7), flour and butter your tart tin, and roll out the pastry (on a floured work surface, or better still, on baking paper). It should be about 3 mm thick.
6
Prick the dough with a fork. Bake the dough "à blanc", placing dry white beans, small weights or, better still, hazelnuts on top. Preheat the oven to 210°C, place in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 180°C. Bake for 15 minutes, then take out the empty tart and leave to cool.
Then make the garnish
1
In a large bowl, grate the well-washed lemons and squeeze out the juice. Strain to keep the zests separate. Cut your 50 grams of soft butter into pieces.
2
Beat your 3 eggs in a bowl and add the cornflour, cane sugar and zest obtained earlier, then beat the mixture until it whitens.
3
Cook your lemon juice (without the zests) in a saucepan, and when it's boiling, add it to your previous mixture (eggs, cornflour, sugar and zests), whisking briskly.
4
Put this mixture into the saucepan used to boil the lemon juice, stirring while you cook over low heat to thicken for about 5 minutes. Then remove from the heat and leave to cool on the side.
5
Add the chopped butter to the cream you made earlier. It should be smooth and homogeneous.
6
Take your cooked tart, remove the weights or hazelnuts, pour the lemon-egg sugar-mazena-butter mixture over it and smooth well. Your tart is ready.
Tip
Chill in the fridge a little before serving.
And why not a lemon meringue pie?
Same recipe earlier, with the meringue.
Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 5 grams cornstarch (1 teaspoon).
- 100 grams powdered sugar
A beautiful lemon meringue pie. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: nKazar via depositphotos.
The process
1
Preheat oven to 150°C mark 5.
2
Take your egg whites and whisk them well, adding a pinch of salt. they should be a little firm.
3
When the beaten eggs are firm, add the 100 grams of sugar, the 5 grams of cornflour and beat again. They should be firm.
4
Place your meringue on the tart, either smoothing it with a spatula or using a piping bag (it's tedious but pretty).
5
Turn the oven down to 120°C (gas mark 4) and place the tart in the oven. Keep an eye on it, but after 10 minutes, the meringue will take on a golden hue. The tart is ready.
