Zingy LemonGold® Lemon Tart
Known for its simplicity and bold punchy flavour, a Lemon Tart is a teatime favourite. This one not only looks pretty but tastes divine.
- Serves: 8 |
- Difficulty: a little effort
- Prep Time : 45 mins |
- Cook Time : 35 mins
Ingredients
Pastry Base
125 g butter, softened
1 egg
2 C (500 ml) cake flour
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
zest of 1 LemonGold®
pinch of salt
LemonGold Filling
¾ C (180 ml) freshly-squeezed LemonGold juice (about 2 fruits)
170 g butter, cubed
¾ C (150 g) castor sugar
4 large whole eggs
4 large egg yolks
Garnish
edible flowers
1 thin slice of LemonGold, cut into small wedges.
To Serve (optional)
1 tub (250 ml) mascarpone or double thick cream
Method
Pastry Base
Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
Cream the butter and the castor sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg, beating it well. Add the flour, baking powder, zest and salt and mix to combine thoroughly to form a stiff dough.
Press the dough evenly into your selected tart tin, line the pastry quite thinly (thinner than you think) as it will puff up. Prick lightly with a fork. Blind bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crispy. Optional Tip: You can brush the pastry with a little egg white before baking, this helps to seal it and preserve the crispness once you pour the lemon filling in. You will need egg yolks for the lemon filling so reserve an egg white to use for brushing.
LemonGold Filling
Place a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add the LemonGold juice, zest, butter and sugar. Allow the butter and sugar to gently melt and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk gently with a fork to blend the yolks.
Once the butter and sugar mixture is melted, add a little of the heated liquid to the whisked eggs and mix quickly to temper and incorporate. You don’t want the hot butter/sugar liquid to cook the egg whites, so it’s important to mix thoroughly. Keep adding a little of the mixture at a time and tempering, this will bring the two liquids to a similar temperature and prevent the hot liquid from cooking the eggs.
Once about a third of the lemon mix is incorporated, you can add everything back to the saucepan. Heat gently while continuing to whisk until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Pour the filling through a fine sieve into a bowl to ensure that there are no lumps. Use a silicone spatula to push the curd through to ensure that you get as much of the filling as possible.
Pour the lemon filling into the pre-baked tart shell and smooth out the top. Work quickly, as you want a smooth, glossy top. Place the tart into the oven to set for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before decorating. Garnish with edible flowers, thinly sliced LemonGold wedges and curled zest. Serve with a scoop of mascarpone or double thick cream.