Lemon Tart(s)

Lemon Tart Recipe 118 comments - 05.10.2009

I’m happy to say that I finally got rid of the two eggs yolks in my freezer. They were packed together in plastic, then again in foil…and of course, quickly forgotten as over the course of the next few months, got pushed further and further back into the morass that is otherwise know as mon congélateur. The other morning I woke up, and when I went to get an ice cube for my orange juice (one of my perks–I absolutely have to have an ice cube in my morning jus d’orange), everything came tumbling out. Long-forgotten flax seeds from a batch of seriously-healthy scones I’d planned to make, to six 2-cup containers of egg whites, plus a mysterious little foil-wrapped packet whose name had been scraped off after months of being away by jagged crystals of frost. It was like watching the last six months of baking projects crossing in front of my eyes, with a few things landing near my feet.

So there I was, at 7:04 am, defrosting my freezer in my jammies, reliving my not-so-distant past, taking everything out, and scraping out massive amounts of ice for the next hour or so. In the freezer were two frozen baked tart shells from making Paule’s pastry dough, so I let one thaw and decided to make a tart. After all, making the dough is half the battle. And I’d had enough fighting for one morning; the rest was easy. Later at the market, I found these lovely unsprayed lemons, which I used to make a quick lemon curd. After I squeezed their juices out (one had remarkably adept aim, btw—right in the old œil gauche), I cooked the juice on the stovetop with lots of the fragrant zest, not too much sugar, those long-forgotten yolks, and poured the warm filling into the gloriouslyready tart shell. Because the filling is quite tart, it makes a modest layer of filling, rather than a big pile o’ curd. Which, come to think of it, doesn’t sound so appetizing, does it? I prefer that, because I don’t like overly-rich desserts and you can confidently eat a wedge of tart and not feel bad about it afterward. (It’s the simplest way to cut the calories of a dessert in half; just eat a portion half the size. Simple, non?) One could pipe whipped cream on it or top it with meringue, although I wanted to keep it pure and bought some seemingly just-picked raspberries to strew over the top. Unfortunately, they were so good, they didn’t make it to the finish and the tart, nor my guests, ever saw a single berry. Gulp! So I killed two birds with one stone: I got rid of those two yolks once and for all, and used up one of the two tart shells in the freezer. Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to do with all that empty space in my freezer. But I’m sure it won’t last long. In fact…

Lemon Tart One 9-inch (23 cm) tart This makes a modest, but very tasty lemony layer. If you want more filling, feel free to double the recipe; any filling that you don’t use can be spread on toast, fresh biscuits, or scones. You could substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon and if you have Meyer lemons, reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup (65g). You can use a favorite tart dough recipe, or the one I’ve linked to. 1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice grated zest of one lemon, preferably unsprayed 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks One pre-baked 9-inch (23 cm) tart shell Preheat the oven to 350F (180C.) 1. In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby. 2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks. 3. When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges. 4. Pour the lemon curd though a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through. 5. Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for five minutes, just to set the curd. 6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving. --

French Tart Dough Recipe 184 comments - 05.01.2009

I was in the middle of a lovely spring lunch at Chez Prune up by the Canal St. Martin the other day with Paule Caillat, a woman who teaches cooking classes here in Paris. We talked about many things, but of course, the conversation quickly turned to the most important subject of them all: baking. And soon she began to tell me about this tart dough recipe that she’s been making for years. I was expecting her to say, “You begin by taking some cold butter and work it into the flour. But she started by saying, “You take butter. And you take water. You put them in a bowl. Then you put it in the oven for 20 minutes and let everything boil until…” which, of course, stopped me mid-swallow of my Côte du Rhone. I almost started choking. “Surely, you jest!” I wanted to cry out in disbelief. Except I couldn’t, because I don’t know how to say that in French. So I just sat there with my mouth agape, which is a pretty uncharacteristic position for me to find myself in.

Then she reiterated, that she heated the butter in the oven and dumped in some flour then stirred it until it was smooth. Seriously gang, you coulda knocked me over with un plume. It was as if someone told me that Anne Coulter actuallywasn’t really out of her friggin’ gourd, or that I packed up and split to a foreign country with no plans for my future. It was all just crazy-talk.

So Paule invited me to her fabulous, spanking-new kitchen (je suis jaloux!), where she teaches cooking classes at Promenades Gourmandes, to make the dough. After I caught my breath at her kitchen, which was roughly the size of my apartment, she lit the oven and soon the butter was bubbling merrily away in the oven. She made me come over and look, showing me how it was darkening just around the edges, “comme le beurre noisette”— like browned butter.

A few moments later, she carefully pulled it out then she dumped in an unspecified amount of flour with an audible sizzle, and began stirring briskly. When I asked how much flour she’d added, she said, “Oh…you know, enough to make it right.”

Immediately my breathing became short and I had to brace myself against the wall (although a slug of Côte du Rhone brought me back): I knew that you’d flip out if I didn’t get an exact amount of flour out of her. Yet after multiple messages back and forth with her from my home kitchen, I came up with the right quantity. I know from experience pinning down the French isn’t always easy, but the rewards are invariably worth it. (Except I still can’t figure out why France Telecom said if I get an iPhone now, it’s going to cost me €509. But if I wait until next January, I can have it at the currently-advertised price of €89.)

If you’ve been afraid to make tart dough, give this one a try. It couldn’t be easier to make, or more interesting, and yielded a wonderfully flaky, buttery dough. And if anyone asks for the recipe, do make sure they’re not mid-gulp.

French Pastry Dough One 9 (23 cm) tart shell Adapted from a recipe by Paule Caillat of Promenades Gourmandes In France, I used type 65 organic flour, which is similar to American all-purpose flour. Paule says that her students report back, saying that the dough works beautifully with American butter, too. Small cracks in the dough are normal so I wouldn’t use this for a thin, custardy filling, although it works well filled with chocolate ganache and I would imagine it would be lovely filled with fresh berries resting on a base of pastry cream. Do be careful with the hot bowl of butter. Not only will the butter spatter a bit when you add the flour, but it’s uncommon to have a very hot bowl on the counter and easy to simply give in the urge to grab it with your bare hands. 90 g (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola) 3 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 150 g (5oz, or 1 slightly-rounded cup) flour Preheat the oven to 410º F (210º C). 1. In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt. 2. Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges. 3. When done, remove the bowl from oven (and be careful, since the bowl will be hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl. 4. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23 cm) tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula.

5. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your and, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks. (Paule takes a fork and reinforces the dough to the sides, which I didn’t find necessary.) 6. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. 7. Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them. I find it best to pinch off a small amount of the reserved dough, roll it gently between your fingers to soften it, then wedge it into the cracks, smoothing it gently with your pinky. 8. Let the shell cool before filling.

Meyer Lemon Tart

Ah.. finally this post is up!! Every year around Spring time (it is kinda late this year), I am always loaded with a whole bunch of meyer lemons, mostly coming from neighbor's tree, friends, and also from my coworker's too. The coworker has a meyer lemon tree that is producing all year around (yup, I now now where to get my source all year!).

The temperature here is staying around 80's on average, cool in the morning and at night. I guess making lemon tart is really appropriate to finally celebrating the hot summer days! I LOVE SUMMER! Life is still crazy busy, it seems like there is never enough time for everything, I am sure it happens with most of you too. Lack of sleep is becoming a regular now, so between work, baking, personal life, social life, errands (or chores), sometimes you really just want to sit back and relax. anyways, if you've been following this blog for a while, you probably notice that I would make meyer lemon tart every year and this year is no difference, just a bit later than usual (I made this about 1.5 months ago). I have been trying to use them fast since they have been in the fridge for quite a while and I would hate it if they're going to waste. So, I managed to make this lemon tart and macaron over a span of a week, one component at a time.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this tart (that is really the primary reason why I make them every year)! As usual, the recipe comes from Pierre Herme and I am pretty sure any lemon lovers are well-informed about his brilliant lemon cream. It is always satisfying everytime I make it and it will continue to appear every year. So if you still have some stash of lemons, please try this. And even if you don't, you might want to go get it to make this tart. Pierre Herme's Meyer Lemon Tart Pate Sucree yield: three 101/2-in crusts or four 8-in crusts 300g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature 190g powdered sugar 60g ground almonds 1 vanilla bean, scrapped 2 eggs, room temperature 500g all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt

* Put the butter in a mixer bowl and cream until smooth and creamy using a paddle attachment. * Add the sugar, ground almonds, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until combined. * Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating the previous one before adding the next one (the dough might look curdled at this point but don't worry, it'll come together once you add the flour) * Combine the flour and salt. Add to the dough in about three addition. Mix until just it comes together. Do not overwork! Like Pierre said, "it's better to have lumps of butter rather than to have an overworked dough". * Divide the dough in the portions you need. Form each one into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight (you can also freeze the dough at this point and thaw it in the fridge overnight). * Remove one disk from the fridge, and roll it either between two sheets of parchment paper, or just well-floured surface. You need to move quickly though. You don't want the dough to be soft and overworked. * Line your tart pan with the dough and put it back in the fridge for at least 1-2 hrs to rest. * Preheat the oven to 350 F. * When you're ready to bake, put a parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the bottom with either rice or beans. * Bake for 20 minutes. Take the parchment paper and the beans/rice off, then continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes until it's golden brown. * Let cool in the ring. Lemon Cream 200 g whole eggs (4 eggs) 240 g granulated sugar 160 g fresh Meyer lemon juice zest from about 5 lemons 300 g unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed * Rub the zest with the sugar using your finger until the sugar is moistened with lemon oil. * On a double boiler, combine the sugar, eggs and juice . * Whisk/stir constantly until the mixture reaches 85-86 C. * Strain the mixture and let cool to about 55-60 C and put it in a blender (if you don't have a hand-held blender) * Add the butter a couple of pieces at a time, to make an emulsion. The mixture will lighten in color. Continue running the blender for a few minutes after all of the butter has been added to ensure the airy and light cream. Make sure stop and run the blender a few times to avoid over-heating. * Pour the mixture into prepared crust and refrigerate.

Those looks so yummy! Some questions for you: * Did you make the whole batch of the pate sucree? It said it makes 3-4 crusts. Or did you make several lemon tarts? Yes, I do make the whole batch. I keep the rest in the freezer which is GREAT! so that I can make one crust for all different tarts * What did you use as your tart pans? From the shape of it, it looks like you use either a cake pan or a springform pan, probably 8"? Is that right?I used tart rings measured about 3" in diameter and 3/4" high. You can use any other tart pans you have *Your reciepe states "yield: three 101/2-in crusts or four 8-in crusts" but in the comment you say you use a 3" tart ring. Could you let me know which the reciepe makes as i would like to make 4 x 3" tartlets and dont know if i need to half the amounts. I used the same recipe as stated on the post. I always divide them into 3 rounds or 4 rounds when making the dough and freeze it. One round is enough to make about 5-6 mini tarts (measured about a little over 3" inches in diameter and 0.5" high