Make Ahead

Tarte au Citron (The Original Lemon Tart)

by:
April 24, 2013
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

I’d be lying if I said that lemon tart had been a major part of my upbring­ing, but I cer­tainly remem­ber eat­ing it once and being very impressed. Some­thing in the per­fect flat of the filling and the crumbly con­trast of the pastry — not to men­tion the shock of lemon — just seems to have stuck in my memory. That, really, is the thing with lemon tart: it sticks in the memory. —17years

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Pastry (or substitute a tart case of your choice)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Filling
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 lemons
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 200°C ( 400°F).
  2. Start with the pastry. Mix the butter, oil, water, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in an ovenproof pot. Place pot in the oven for around 15 minutes, until it is bubbling and starting to brown.
  3. Drop into an 8 or 9 inch loose based tart or sandwich tin and spread with a spatula. Once cooled sufficiently, hand form to the shape of the tin - reserving a small piece to plug gaps later.
  4. Prick the base with a fork and blind bake for 15 minutes until a golden colour. If any cracks form, plug them with the reserved dough. Allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 320°F (160°C).
  5. Mean­while, get to work on the filling. Mix the eggs and yolk with the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the cream, then whisk again. Add the lemon juice and zest before giv­ing a final whisk.
  6. Pour the mix­ture into the pastry case and bake for 50 minutes, by which time the filling should be almost set.
  7. Serve cold, lightly dus­ted with icing sugar and with fruit, ice cream or any­thing else you want.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • julia boyd
    julia boyd
  • mrslarkin
    mrslarkin
  • PastryMad
    PastryMad
  • 17years
    17years

5 Reviews

julia B. February 23, 2014
There is no mention of the flour in the instructions for making the pastry. ???
 
PastryMad May 8, 2013
I think the quantity of cream has been left out in the ingredients list...
 
17years May 9, 2013
It most certainly has been - 150ml of it if you're interested. I'd better change that...
 
mrslarkin April 25, 2013
looks delicious!
 
17years April 25, 2013
Kind of you to say so - I thought it was too...