Meyer Lemon Tart
A simple lemon tart is delicious and a thing of beauty. I hadn’t made one in, well, a few years, so I was a bit nervous about having a go, making a sweet pastry crust and a lemon curd filling. I used Meyer lemons from my own tree. They are so light and tangy. But any lemons will do.
It was easier than I expected! I used a sweet pastry recipe I’ve used successfully before which is a bit like a biscuit crust. Butter and icing sugar are creamed in a food processor, and flour is carefully folded into the mixture. It makes a light, crisp pastry shell. The filling is a richer version of my go-to lemon curd, with extra eggs and egg yolks.
Needless to say, as I’m a rustic cook, the tart was perhaps not as neat as I would have liked. But it’s the taste that counts after all!
For the sweet pastry
140g butter
80g icing sugar
1 large egg (about 60g)
25g ground almonds
250g plain flour
Pinch of salt
For the lemon curd filling
1 tablespoon lemon zest (2 lemons)
200ml lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs (about 60g each) + 4 large egg yolks beaten well
160g butter, softened
To make the pastry, put the butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and process until well creamed. Add the egg and ground almonds and process. Using a spoon, fold in the plain flour and salt, being careful not to overmix or the pastry will be tough.
Remove the pastry to a floured benchtop and form into a disc. Wrap in cling wrap and put in the fridge to rest for 1-2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180°C 160°C fan.
You will need a 24cm or 25cm tart tin. Remove the pastry from the fridge to a floured benchtop and with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large circle, a little bigger than the diameter of the tart tin. Roll the pastry round the rolling pin, then carefully unroll into the tin. Using your fingers, gently fit the pastry into the tin. You will have excess pastry hanging over the top of the tin. Carefully trim with a knife. Put the tart tin in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Remove from the fridge. Line the pastry in the tin with baking paper, making sure the you have enough overhanging baking paper to use as “handles” to help you remove once the pastry is baked. Fill the tart with baking beads, or beans or rice as an alternative. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and weights. Bake for a further 10 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Leave to cool completely before adding the filling.
To make the lemon curd filling, put the lemon juice and zest, sugar and beaten eggs and yolks into a double boiler or bain-marie. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, in order to combine all the ingredients.
Add the butter in small pieces, stirring to melt the butter after each addition. Keep stirring and cooking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve.
To make the tart, pour the lemon curd into the cooled pastry shell and place back in the oven for 5 minutes. The filling will be soft but will set once the tart has cooled down.
Serve at room temperature with whipped cream or berries or a dusting of icing sugar. Leftovers can also be refrigerated to be eaten later.