Tart au Citron

Recipes like this one frustrate me. You know the type. You measure everything exactly. You use the exact size tin the recipe asks for. Yet somehow you end up with almost 3 times the amount of pastry needed to make the tart. How? I do not know.

If I had been making this in the middle of the day I wouldn't have been as frustrated. I would have been excited to be able to make some mini tarts as well, with a different filling. But I was making this around 10pm (and I'm a bit of a nana when it comes to staying up late), so was merely annoyed at the waste of food.

Rant over - the tart came out really well, and actually tasted better the following day after sitting in the fridge for a while. It was pretty easy to make, and kept for 3 days (We would have eaten it much quicker but I am practising restraint - much easier said than done!)

Pastry
2 3/4 cups plain flour
150g unsalted butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 eggs, beaten
Sift the flour directly onto the bench. Make a well in the centre, place the butter in the well, and using a pecking action with your thumb and fingertips, work the butter only, until it is very soft. Add the sugar to the butter and mix, then add the eggs and mix. Now gradually add the flour until you have a rough dough. Bring together, knead a few times to make a smooth dough, cover in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 190C. Roll the pastry out to line a 23cm loose-based fluted tart pan. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes. Blind bake pastry for 10 minutes, then remove paper and weights and cook for a further 3-5 minutes, until pastry is just cooked.

Reduce oven to 150C.

Filling
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups castor sugar
3/4 cup double cream (thickened cream)
1 cup lemon juice
finely grated zest of 3 lemons

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Add the cream, whisking, then the lemon juice and zest.

Put the pie tin on a baking tray and pour in the filling. Return to the oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until set. Cool before serving.
Recipe from Sweet Food.