Lemon Tarts

This week I have decided to have a go at something I haven't made before and picked Lemon Tarts. They always look so lovely and can be made to any size that suits you - one large tart for sharing or like I have done, individual portions that you can have all to yourself!

A book all about french classics

In order to try and improve my baking I decided to buy a patisserie book in the hope that it will help me to create some perfect french treats that not only taste good but look immaculate too. If I'm ever going to have my own little cafe, how my bakes look will be what entices people in (I hope) so I thought these would be a great first test. The book I chose was Ed Kimber's Patisserie Made Simple which I have used a few times now. I'm not sure all of the recipes make patisserie all that simple but the lemon tart recipe that I have used from here is definitely easy to follow and the individual steps take no time at all. This recipe does require patience as for best results the lemon filling needs to chill over night - I would recommend making part this the night before you want to eat your tarts.

Right - to the baking! For this recipe and for a lot of the recipes in Ed Kimber's book you will need an instant read thermometer. I have one of these which is really versatile and can be used for chocolate work, sugar work and jams.





This recipe makes enough for 2 large tarts or 12 individual tarts. If you don't want to waste the egg whites - why not try whipping up a batch of meringues?

For the lemon cream you will need:

• 150ml lemon juice (approximately 4 lemons)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 150g caster sugar
• 225g unsalted butter, cubed

For the sweet pastry:

• 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
• 400g plain flour
• 35g ground almonds
• 75g icing sugar
• 250g unsalted butter
• 2 large egg yolks
• a little pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of  really cold water

For decoration it's up to you, the original recipe uses finely chopped pistachios however I'm not a huge fan of nuts and neither is my sister so to adapt it to our tastes I have used freeze dried rasperries to add a little colour and additional fruity flavours.

To make the lemon cream:

• Put the lemon juice, eggs and sugar in a pan, whilst stirring constantly, heat until the mixture reaches 75-80c. Don't heat the mixture too quickly as you don't want it to turn into scrambled egg!
• Removed from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

                     

                                 Sieve and allow to cool

Whisk in butter and chill overnight

• Using a hand held electric whisk, add the butter, a little at a time. Carry on mixing until smooth. The mixture will change colour as the butter is added from a quite vibrant yellow  to more pastel yellow.
• Cover the mixture with clingfilm (make sure the clingfilm is pressed down onto the surface of the mixture) and chill over night or for a few hours at the very least.

To make the sweet pastry:

• Put the vanilla, flour, almonds and icing sugar in a bowl - mix a little to combine.
• Add the butter and rub into the mixture until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Add the egg and mix together until the dough starts to come together, add the water and mix and mix a little more before turning out onto a floured surface and gently kneading.
• Cover with clingfilm and chill of at least 1 hour.

This shape makes it really easy to
cut into portions for individual tarts

You can divide the pastry mixture and freeze half if you don't need to use it all at once - it will be fine for a couple of months. If you were making this recipe for a tea party you could experiment with flavours for the filling, I think I would try chocolate or raspberry tarts.

When your pastry is chilled, roll out your dough until it is about 2 - 3mm thick and line your chosen tart tins, trim the excess and pop the lined tins back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Top tip - if you are choosing to make individual tarts, when you roll your pastry to chill, roll it into an oblong so that it can be easily cut into little portions to roll out.

You're aiming for really thin pastry

You now need to blind bake your pastry cases which means popping some baking paper inside them and using baking beans or rice to weigh this down. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for 10 more at 160c (fan).

When cooked your cases will
come away from the tin

After allowing your pastry cases to cool you're ready to add your lemon filling. You'll need to loosen it a little by mixing it before spreading it into your pastry cases.

At this point, a little more patience is required as they are best chilled before serving, Ed Kimber recommends 2 hours, I recommend as long as you can resist!

To decorate you can leave it au natural, dust with icing sugar or add your chosen addition. I used freeze dried raspberries which I was able to find fairly easily in the baking isle of my local Sainsbury's. 

I wasn't completely happy with how mine turned out as the lemon cream consistency wasn't quite right - it definitely needed to be mixed for longer to get the smooth glossy finish I was aiming for. I will have another go sometime and hopefully, practice will make perfect!

And that's it! Happy baking, let me know how you get on.

Rach x