Classic French Tarte Au Citron Fresh Lemon Tart Recipes

CLASSIC FRENCH LEMON TART

Steps:

• Make the « pâte sucrée » crust.
• In large mixing bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract, almond flour and egg, and mix until homogeneous. Add the all-purpose flour and salt, and mix until just incorporated and the dough comes together into a ball. Wrap in a plastic film and place in the fridge for 2 hours, minimum.
• Pre-heat your oven to 350F (180C).
• Take the pâte sucrée out of the fridge, place it between two large sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to a 12-inch circle. Unpeel the top sheet of parchment paper, transfer the crust to a 9-inch tart pan (trim the sides if needed) and poke the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Chill it again for 30 minutes. Line the top of the crust with foil or parchment paper and place pie weights or dried beans to keep the pie crust from puffing when baking.
• Bake the pâte sucrée for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper filled with weights and bake for 10 more minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden.
• Set the tart shell aside to cool (still in the dish). Leave your oven on at 350F/180C.
• In the meantime, make the lemon filling.
• Grab a fine-mesh strainer before you start and have it ready within arm's reach.
• In a medium saucepan (no heat yet), whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, salt, egg yolks and eggs. Add the cubed butter and turn the heat to medium. Whisk slowly until the butter is all melted. Continue whisking steadily for several minutes until the mixture thickens to a thin custard consistency.
• Immediately pass the lemon filling through the fine mesh strainer, directly into the tart shell. Using an offset spatula (or back of a large spoon), smooth out the top of the filling. Bake the tart for 5 minutes, until the filling has slightly set and turned slightly deeper in color.
• Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy slightly warm or chilled.

CLASSIC FRENCH TARTE AU CITRON - FRESH LEMON TART

Steps:

• Roll out the pastry and line a 24cm to 26cm tart or quiche dish. Bake blind in a pre-heated oven 180°C/350F/gas 4, for about 7-10 mins, or until lightly golden brown and slightly crisp.
• Whisk the lemon juice, crème fraiche, sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Add the grated lemon rind & mix well.
• Carefully pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 40 minutes or so, until the custard has set but is still slightly wobbly. Sprinkle liberally with icing sugar.
• Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, with a drizzle of cassis and a sprig of mint. You can also serve this with a bowl of creme fraiche or cream.

VERY FRESH LEMON TART - FRENCH TARTE AU CITRON

Steps:

• To prepare the filling, combine all of the ingredients, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Before finishing the tart, take the filling out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.
• To make the pastry, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and combine by hand, rubbing the butter into the flour mixture, until it all starts to come together but is still slightly lumpy. Add the egg and just enough cream to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough with some streaks of butter still visible. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF(175ºC). Grease and flour a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch and transfer to the prepared tart pan. Line with aluminum foil, weigh down with pie weights or beans, and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the weights and foil and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the tart shell is cooked through and golden.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300ºF(150ºC). Stir the room-temperature filling to combine. Pour the filling into the baked shell and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature, and chill before cutting.