Lucas Schoormanss Lemon Tart Recipes

LUCAS SCHOORMANS'S LEMON TART

Steps:

• Make the confit: place sliced lemons in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Steep 4 to 8 hours.
• Drain lemons, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Simmer gently until lemon rind is just softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then drain the lemons again, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Return lemon slices and reserved liquid to the pan and add sugar and vanilla bean and seeds. Simmer 5 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer slices to a wire rack to cool.
• Return the pan with the liquid to the stove. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and reduced to about 2/3 cup. Discard the vanilla bean. Set aside.
• Make the pastry dough: pulse together the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until pieces are no larger than peas. Add yolks and pulse until you have a dough that just pulls away from the sides of the bowl; add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Remove the bottom from an 11-inch tart pan and place it on a work surface.
• Put two-thirds of the dough on top, and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough over the tart-pan bottom to cover. Using a knife, trim the excess dough. Lift and place bottom back in the tart ring. Using your fingers, break off bits of the remaining dough and press them onto the sides of the pan to cover. Roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the dough with parchment paper, weigh down with rice or beans and bake until edges are just browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and remove parchment and rice.
• Make the filling: in the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter. Beat in almonds and flour. Beat in sugar and zest. Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape into the baked crust and return to the oven. Bake until filling is browned and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
• Lay lemon slices over top of tart. Gently reheat lemon syrup and pour over tart. Tart may be served chilled or at room temperature.

WHOLE-LEMON TART

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 325 degrees. Place the crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Cut the lemon into thin slices, and discard the seeds. Toss the slices and sugar into the bowl of a food processor, and whir for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed, until smooth. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, and then, when they're incorporated, the cornstarch followed by the melted butter. Remove the bowl, and rap it against the counter a few times to pop some of the bubbles in the mixture. Pour the batter into the crust.
• Bake the tart for 45 to 55 minutes, until the filling is puffed and lightly browned - don't be concerned if the top cracks. If you tap the side of the pan, the filling should seem firm; if it jiggles just the least bit in the center, that's fine. A toothpick poked into the center - be gentle - will come out clean. Transfer the tart on the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Leave until it reaches room temperature. The tart can be served now or chilled (it will keep in the refrigerator overnight).
• Just before serving, dust the top with confectioners' sugar.

THE BEST LEMON TART EVER

Steps:

• Combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer; mix ingredients thoroughly with a paddle attachment. Mix flour into butter mixture to make a smooth dough. Press dough into a 9-inch tart pan; refrigerate crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake crust until light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Whisk sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl until smooth. Pour lemon filling into crust. Cover edges of crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Bake tart until filling is set, about 20 minutes. Cool completely and dust with confectioners' sugar.

SHAKER LEMON TART

Steps:

• The day before serving, prepare the filling. Wash and dry the lemons. Freeze them for 10 minutes and then slice them as finely as you can using a mandoline, meat slicer or very sharp knife. As you slice, pull out and discard any seeds. Place the lemons in a mixing bowl and toss with the sugar. Cover with a dish towel and set on the counter overnight.
• The next day, prepare the pastry: combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, work half of the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Quickly work the remaining butter into the dough until the biggest pieces are the size of lima beans. Drizzle in the water in several additions, tossing and mixing between each. (It should look rather ropy and rough.) Stop adding water when a few bits of dry flour remain in the bottom of the bowl; do not overwork the dough or it will become tough. Gather the dough into 2 balls and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap, then flatten into disks. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Unwrap a disk of dough, place between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll into a 9-inch circle, 1/8-inch thick. Trim the excess dough. Lay it on a cookie sheet, cover and refrigerate. Roll the second disk into an 11-inch circle, 1/8-inch thick. Trim the excess dough. Gently place the larger circle in a 9-inch tart pan, letting the excess dough rise up the sides (do not trim). Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• Using your hands, mix the eggs, flour and butter into the lemon-sugar mixture, squeezing the lemons as you mix. Pour the mixture into the dough-lined tart pan to just below the pan's rim. Using the point of a paring knife, carve 4 to 6 holes in the crust of the small dough circle. Lay it on top of the filling. Roughly fold the edges of the bottom crust over the top circle. Brush with milk. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes more. Cool completely before serving.