Monday, April 7, 2008

TWD french lemon cream tart...





Lemon Cream:


1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (4-5 lemons)

2 sticks plus 5 Tbsp butter, cut into Tbsp size pieces, at room temp

1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough



Have an instant read thermometer, a strainer and a blender on hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees. As you whisk-you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling-you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. This could take as much as 10 min.

As soon as it reaches 180, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender; discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees, about 10 min.

Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going-to get the perfect, light, airy texture of lemon cream, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 min.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.



Sweet Tart Dough:


1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick plus 1 Tbsp butter, very cold or frozen, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk



Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in-you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses-about 10 seconds each-until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze the crust for at least 30 min, preferably longer, before baking.

Lightly butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake crust for 25 min. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, gently press is down with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 8 min, or until it is firm and golden brown. Cool completely before filling.



Ok...if you are a citrus fan...if you're not a citrus fan...this lemon cream is spectacular! Talk about silky, creamy goodness. I loved making this tart. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone...I would usually pass up a recipe like this. I would be very intimidated by all of the steps. However, the ingredients are all household items, and it really is amazing watching the science part of this recipe work it's magic. My husband and kids were even into it! (I soooo wish I had a pic of that!) I served it up with a little sweetened whipped cream, a perfect accompaniment in my opinion. I would love to try these next time as individual mini tarts. Overall...a great choice by Mary at Starting from Scratch. I loved every little aspect of this weeks recipe...making it and of course eating it!

27 comments:

Peabody said...

It is very silky indeed.

Julius said...

Glad you didn't pass this one up.

It really is one of the best in Dorie's book.

Julius from Occasional Baker

Mary Ann said...

I agree with stepping out of my comfort zone on this one, especially when I looked at all the butter! I didn't tell anyone and we all loved it. Yum!

ostwestwind said...

It's silky and I liked it. I'll try the orange tart as well. Your's looks delicious.

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

diane said...

So can you make this when I'm in town!?

Marie Rayner said...

Glad you decided to step out of your comfort zone on this one! Your tart looks excellent! I did the orange version and I was well pleased with the end results even if it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous lemon shot!

LyB said...

Great shot of the lemons in the tart pan, very cute! Making the tart was loads of fun but eating it was definitely the best part! :) Your tart looks absolutely delicious!

Anonymous said...

It looks just perfect!

Mary said...

glad you enjoyed this so much...your tart looks so wonderful and yummy!

Anonymous said...

Great step-by-step photos! I'm curious - did your kids like it?

mimi said...

your tart came out looking so great! next time i would have preferred making little mini tarts too.

Mari said...

Your tart looks lemony-luscious!

Melissa said...

Beautiful pictures! And the tart looks great too!

Heather B said...

Great job! It looks very yummy!

Anonymous said...

great job on your tart! looks delightful! :)

Natalie said...

Glad the whole family liked it, that's rare sometimes. Looks great!

Anne said...

Pretty pics AnneMarie! I was amazed too that some eggs and lemon could make something so delish. Great job!

Anonymous said...

I love the pan full of lemons. They look so fresh displayed that way. And your lemon cream looks extra special creamy and lovely! Surprising that your kids liked it. I would have thought it too tart for kids taste buds.

Sarah said...

Looks great and tasty! And I loved how it was all household ingredients. It is always great to not have to make a special trip to the store to make a recipe. Awesome job!

Piggy said...

the tart is sinfully delicious, isn't it? ;-)

Gretchen Noelle said...

Wonderful that you so enjoyed this! The steps can be intimidating to these recipes but the outcome is always fun to see!

Judy said...

Your tart looks delicious! Glad you decided to give it a try.

Amy W said...

Yours looks yummy...now I wish I had some left!

CB said...

So glad you didn't sit this out. I definitely get intimidated by recipes but its great to step out of your comfort zone and find that you can really do more than you think esp when its so tasty! ;)
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Anonymous said...

Loved you post and your pictures! These challenges have pushed me to try things I would not have either. I guess thats what makes it fun. Great tart.

eatme_delicious said...

Your cream is stunning! Well done.