Lemon Tart turns 2 today! Happy Birthday to me! I feel proud that I'm still here, still taking pictures of my food (and better ones, luckily!)and still writing about it. I'm so grateful that there are people the world over who read my words, leave comments, share their triumphs and a passion for food with me. And I still have so many things I am passionate about I want to share with you : my love of tea and wine, cheese and chocolate and memories of my travels.
For those of you who've been here before, thank you. I hope I've inspired you to cook something new, I hope you've learned something from coming to these pages and I hope I've entertained you. For those of you new to this site, I sincerly hope you'll return. And as a birthday present to me, if you've enjoyed some of what I've done here pass along a link to a friend, or if you haven't already subscribed to receive updates via email, please do so you never miss a post. I love hearing from you, so don't be shy and leave a comment. I love dialogue about what's cookin'!
In honour of this day I am doing what seems appropriate : making another lemon tart. You already know my favourite, but there are still some other candidates for runners up. I've chosen this one because, like that favourite, its so easy. There's no cooking of the filling and you don't even need to juice the lemons. You simply throw everything into a blender and whir for a few minutes then dump into the precooked tart shell. Its richer and creamier than my usual because its got butter AND cream, but is still elegant and light at the same time. I'm quite smitten with it.
As a birthday present to myself I've just got my hands on the first of the meyer lemons and because I do so adore them, I've chosen to make this a Meyer Lemon Tart. Because you use the whole lemon, a Meyer is the perfect candidate as its pith is less bitter than a Eureka lemon. But don't despair. If, like many people, you can't find any of those fragrant and expensive Meyers, this tart can just as beautifully be made with regular lemons.
Whole Lemon Tart
- inspired by a lemon tart in Baking by Dorie Greenspan's
- this recipe calls for Meyer lemons. If you wish to use all regular, Eureka lemons, taste the filling and add more sugar to taste
1 9inch sweet crust tart shell, prebaked, recipe here
filling:
2 medium meyer lemons, or use regular lemons, scrubbed and dried
4 Tbsp cup fresh lemon juice, not meyer
1 cup sugar, or more to taste if using regular lemons
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/8 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cut the lemons into chunks and remove all seeds. Put them in the blender along with the sugar and blend until pureed.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Since all lemons differ in their sweet and tartness, be sure to taste as you mix and add more sugar if necessary. Although don't be tempted to add too much. A cloying lemon tart just isn't right.
Pour into tart shell and carefully slide into oven. Tart shell should be almost full.
Bake for about 25 minutes until filling is just barely set. A little jiggle in the middle is perfect as it will set as it cools. Do not overbake.
