Ann's Tart Lemon Tart is just that. It is also easy and delicious. I make no apologies, I love to bake so make my own shortcrust pastry, but there's no shame in buying a storebought crust to pile this divinely tart lemon filling into. It uses whole lemons, eggs, sugar, and a little butter. It is as insanely good as it is simple. Try it.
AuthorAnn Ogden GaffneyPut the 2 whole lemons into a sauce pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Put the 2 whole lemons into a sauce pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes
Meanwhile: roll out the pastry to fit an 8" flan case. Fit pastry snugly in, prick the bottom with a fork and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes or until hard.
Blind bake the crust: Remove from freezer. Set on a baking sheet. Cover pastry shell with foil, pressing the foil against the sides. Top foil with pie weights if you have them, pushed up against the sides to support the pastry. (see Ann's Tips). Blind bake pastry case for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and lift off the foil. Set aside.
Lower oven to 325F.
Meanwhile make the filling: using a slotted spoon, remove the lemons from the saucepot. They will be very soft. Put them into the vase of a high-speed blender and puree until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 1 cup of the sugar, and the butter. Blitz again until combined.
Lower the blender speed. Slowly add the 2 eggs 1 at a time. It's important to do this gently as you do not want to add too much air to the filling. When the eggs are incorporated, pour the filling into the blind-baked crust. Place the baking sheet with the filled tart on a center shelf in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is pulling slightly away from the sides of the crust. Set on a rack to cool slightly.
While the tart is cooling, take a small pot and add the remaining sugar and lemon juice. Heat over a high flame until they thicken to heavy golden syrup. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the lemon tart with the syrup. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.
- You don't need to buy fancy pie weights. A 1 lb bag of biggish dried beans like kidney beans will do just as well. They can be used over and over again, so once they are cool store them in a container with your baking pans for future use.
- I find that setting tarts or quiches on a baking sheet does 2 things:
1) it makes them easier to move in and out of the oven.
2) It helps prevent the bottom of the pastry from getting soggy.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Put the 2 whole lemons into a sauce pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes
Meanwhile: roll out the pastry to fit an 8" flan case. Fit pastry snugly in, prick the bottom with a fork and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes or until hard.
Blind bake the crust: Remove from freezer. Set on a baking sheet. Cover pastry shell with foil, pressing the foil against the sides. Top foil with pie weights if you have them, pushed up against the sides to support the pastry. (see Ann's Tips). Blind bake pastry case for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and lift off the foil. Set aside.
Lower oven to 325F.
Meanwhile make the filling: using a slotted spoon, remove the lemons from the saucepot. They will be very soft. Put them into the vase of a high-speed blender and puree until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 1 cup of the sugar, and the butter. Blitz again until combined.
Lower the blender speed. Slowly add the 2 eggs 1 at a time. It's important to do this gently as you do not want to add too much air to the filling. When the eggs are incorporated, pour the filling into the blind-baked crust. Place the baking sheet with the filled tart on a center shelf in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is pulling slightly away from the sides of the crust. Set on a rack to cool slightly.
While the tart is cooling, take a small pot and add the remaining sugar and lemon juice. Heat over a high flame until they thicken to heavy golden syrup. Using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the lemon tart with the syrup. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.
- You don't need to buy fancy pie weights. A 1 lb bag of biggish dried beans like kidney beans will do just as well. They can be used over and over again, so once they are cool store them in a container with your baking pans for future use.
- I find that setting tarts or quiches on a baking sheet does 2 things:
1) it makes them easier to move in and out of the oven.
2) It helps prevent the bottom of the pastry from getting soggy.
