Lemon Tart For The Win!

So all of the little things that I made this week have added up to this moment. I knew all I had to do was add my Lemon Curd that I made earlier in the week to my pastry shell that I made two days ago and I would have a beautiful lemon tart that my family can eat with their Sunday dinner. It literally takes minutes when you have all the components of the tart already made. So today all I had to do was assemble and decorate. Oh and Kroger had blackberries on sale for $1.50 so that was going to be the berry that I chose to use as a garnish. Oh and pistachios, I just have a ton of shelled pistachios in my pantry for future Mother's Day bakes. Well, here is the tart, I dusted the top with powdered sugar (what lemon tart doesn't have a dusting of powdered sugar?) and with a little pistachio dust. I think it came out beautiful, I'll maybe update this post later with a picture of a slice. I'm still debating topping this with a dollop of toasted meringue or whipping up a little homemade whipped cream for the center.

Beautiful Lemon Tart with blackberries and pistachios

So here's what you will need

Lemon Tart

• 1 9 inch pastry shell 
• 1 1/2 cups Lemon Curd (Recipe here)
• Blackberries for garnish

Pastry Shell (makes enough for 9 inch pan)

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup  powdered sugar (or ¼ cup granulated sugar)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

yeah I have a notebook with baking and decorating ideas

First for the pastry shell, add flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor for a few seconds and pulse until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by using a pastry cutter. 

Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses.

Add egg and vanilla extract and keep pulsing until the dough is no longer dry and starts to clump together, about 10-15 seconds. Do not process to the point that a large ball of dough is formed; rather the dough should be quite crumbly with large clumps. Another way to check if it’s done is to take a piece of dough and press it between your thumbs – the dough should stick without feeling dry or crumbly.

Turn dough to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. It should come together easily without being sticky. Flatten ball slightly with your hands to form a thick disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I made this dough two days before and just placed it in the fridge for 2 days.

It's easier if you keep dough in the shape that you want your final product to be.

All ready for the fridge

*If you don’t want to use the dough right away, you can refrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to a month and then thaw overnight in the fridge.

Now take your dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly for easy rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 11-inch circle, then place gently into a 9-inch tart pan (preferably with a removable bottom)

With a sharp knife, trim the edges of the pastry to fit the tart pan.

* Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. Frozen dough is less prone to shrinking while baking.(I don't care about shrinkage, but if you do this will help)

Preheat oven to 375F and place oven rack in the center.

Press parchment paper or aluminum foil tightly against the crust, covering the edges to prevent them from burning. Fill with pie weights/dried beans/uncooked rice, making sure they’re fully distributed over the entire surface.

Bake crust for 20 minutes, until foil no longer sticks to the dough. Transfer crust to a wire rack and remove weights and foil.

Bake for about 7-10 minutes longer until golden brown and dry. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Now add in your Lemon Curd and with a offset spatula or butter knife just smooth out the surface

You can definitely eat this now

I then placed the tart back in the fridge overnight, and then decorate however you like.

I added a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh blackberries to one side. I also sprinkled pistachios and pistachio dust on one side of the tart. It is a very Springtime dessert, and I think people who enjoy slightly tart things will enjoy this tart. I am a huge fan of anything lemon so it works for me. 

Springtime fresh

Time to impress your friends with this Lemon Tart

Deliciously tart & sweet

Lemon Curd For The Win!

This weekend I plan on making my favorite dessert of all time, a luscious lemon tart. I've always loved all things citrus.  As you can see from the recipes so far on this blog, I've been on curd kick. I've made grapefruit curd, mango curd, and now lemon curd. I love their tartness with a hint of sweetness. I love how citrus literally brightens your day. I didn't want to get stressed by making everything in one day so I decided to make the filling today. I will make the pastry tomorrow, and then bake and assemble later this weekend. I'm also in the process of braiding my hair so I know I wouldn't have time to do it all in one day. As far as the curd, it really is simple to make and you can use it to fill macarons, cakes, pies, top ice cream , or just on toast in the morning. It's also a great way to use lemons.

This is enough to fill a 9 inch tart shell

Like all curds you just need a few basic things.

Lemon Curd

• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks (save the egg whites for macarons later, maybe)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons for both zest and juice)
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
• ½ cup  unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (1 stick)

First, in a medium heatproof bowl, place eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and heavy cream and whisk to combine.

 Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water . Cook on moderate heat, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes thick (mine was ready in 8minutes, but it can take up to 15). If you have a thermometer, it should register 170F/75C; otherwise, it should coat the back of a wooden spoon and leave a clear pass if you run your finger through it. 

The curd will thicken more once cooled.

Remove from heat and immediately strain mixture through a sieve.

Look at all that chunky stuff, after straining you are left with a smooth curd

 Now add in your butter, a few cubes at a time, and whisk until completely melted and incorporated, and your  mixture is smooth. 

Take your time with it—the whisking makes for an airy and light texture. Allow to cool to room temperature before placing in your fridge (lemon curd can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or can be frozen for up to 2 months. To thaw, place overnight in the fridge.

It's so smooth

Whisk the mixture to smoothen it before using.

Yummy Lemon Curd

Now all you need is crust, which I will be making a yummy pastry dough in the next coming days.