Magnolia Grills Favorite Lemon Tart Recipes

MAGNOLIA GRILL'S FAVORITE LEMON TART

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk mixture and pulse just until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Flatten into a 6-inch disc, wrap in plastic, and chill several hours or overnight.
• Let the dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 13-inch round. Fit the dough into a 10 1/2 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the dough flush with the rim and freeze the tart shell until firm.
• Line the shell with foil or parchment, and fill with pie weights, rice, or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove the shell from the oven and immediately brush the hot pastry with the egg white.
• When the pastry is almost done baking, assemble the filling. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, and orange zest and cream till smooth. Transfer the tart shell to the oven. Place the filling in a pitcher and slowly pour into the shell as high as possible without overfilling. There might be a bit of filling left over.
• Bake the tart for approximately 25 minutes, until the filling is barely set. Check the tart after 20 minutes and keep checking it every few minutes after that. It is crucial to not over bake this filling!
• Cool to room temperature before serving with berries and whipped cream.
• HINT: When rolling tart pastry, always save all the dough scraps in case you need them to repair a crack in a partially baked shell. If the pastry "bubbles up" during the baking process, gently prick the pastry with a fork to release air bubbles. Check several times and repeat if necessary. The egg white serves to seal the pastry, which is especially helpful with a liquid filling such as this. It is essential that there be no cracks or holes visible in the partially baked shell. Make any necessary repairs prior to filling.

THE CHEF'S FAVORITE LEMON TART

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk mixture and pulse just until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Flatten into a 6-inch disc, wrap in plastic, and chill several hours or overnight. Let the dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 13-inch round. Fit the dough into a 10 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the dough flush with the rim and freeze the tart shell until firm. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line the shell with foil or parchment, and fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the shell from the oven and immediately brush the hot pastry with the egg white.
• When the pastry is almost done baking, assemble the filling. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, orange zest and cream until smooth. Transfer the tart shell to a preheated 350 degree oven. Place the filling in a pitcher and slowly pour into the shell as high as possible without overfilling. There might be a bit of filling left over.
• Bake the tart for approximately 25 minutes, until the filling is barely set. Check the tart after 20 minutes and keep checking it every few minutes after that. It is crucial to not overbake this filling. Cool to room temperature before serving.

MEYER LEMON TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: in the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and the milk, and beat to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with salt. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture, stirring until completely blended. Gather dough into two balls. Freeze one for future use, chill the other for at least 1 hour.
• Heavily butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan and trim the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork, and place the shell in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• While shell is in freezer, prepare lemon curd. Grate zest of lemons. Squeeze lemons to extract 1 cup of juice. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine juice and zest. Add remaining sugar, butter and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
• In bowl of a mixer, combine eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly add hot lemon mixture to eggs until blended. Return mixture to saucepan, and place over low heat. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency; do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat, and continue to stir to stop the cooking. Strain lemon curd into a bowl. Adjust sugar to taste; the curd should be tart, but may need additional sugar if the lemons were unripe. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it right against the surface of the curd. Allow to cool.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove tart shell from freezer, and bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Spoon lemon curd into tart shell, and smooth the top. Bake until filling has puffed around the edges, about 30 minutes. Cover edges with foil, if necessary, to prevent over-browning. Cool to room temperature before serving.