Ultimate lemon tart: Recipes: Food (2024)

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Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place a 20 centimetre diameter by four centimetre-deep dessert ring on top.

• To make the sweet pastry, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Work the butter slowly on a low speed until smooth. Add the sugar and mix together on a medium speed until combined, taking care not to aerate it too much.

  In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks and water. While still mixing, add to the butter mixture bit by bit. At this stage the mixture may look as though it has separated, but once the flour is added, this will be rectified.

• Now turn off the mixer, then tip in the flour and salt. On low speed, work in the flour and salt until the mixture comes together and is crumbly. Do not overwork at this stage as the gluten in the flour will activate and the pastry could become tough.

• Tip the contents of the bowl onto a work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear the mixture away from you until it looks smooth and no patches of butter remain.
  Using a palette knife or scraper, scrape the pastry together into a mound. Divide the mound of pastry in half and pat each half into about 3 cm-high rounds — you don’t want a big boulder otherwise it will make it harder later to achieve the right temperature to work the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled all the way through.

• Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and place on a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Chop the dough into manageable bits and smear each bit with the heel of your hand to get the dough going. If you missed any bits of butter before, make sure you smear them out this time.
  Once the pastry is all the same texture, bring it all together again.
  Shape the pastry back into a ball, ready to roll out.
  Gently but firmly tap the pastry out slightly with your rolling pin to get things going.
  Roll the pastry quickly so it doesn’t warm up too much and become soft and unmanageable. Roll evenly and make a one-quarter turn every couple of rolls to keep the shape.

• Line a baking tray with baking paper and place a tart ring on top.
  Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 5 mm. The pastry should feel supple and roll out easily without cracking.
  Roll up the pastry onto the rolling pin and gently unroll over the tart ring.
  Ease the pastry into the tin, taking care that there are no creases or cracks. Just smooth out any cracks or creases with your fingertips.
  Do not trim the excess pastry but leave it overhanging. Th is ensures that the edge of the pastry will be still perfectly flush with the ring even if the shell shrinks. Reserve a little of the dough scraps for patching up the shell later.
  Freeze the tart shell until very firm.

• To make the filling, rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils. Whisk the eggs together with the lemon zest and sugar mixture until foamy. Stir in the lemon juice, then the cream, and set aside for the proteins to begin breaking down while you blind bake the tart shell.

• To blind bake the tart shell, remove it from the freezer and line carefully with foil. Make sure the foil is flush with all the surfaces of the pastry. Remember any creases or spaces will result in faults in the shell.

  Fill the shell all the way to the top with uncooked rice and fold the foil down around the edge of the ring. Bake the shell for about 20 minutes.

  Flick the foil upwards and pull gently to release the steam. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove the foil and rice carefully and return to the oven. Reduce the oven temperature 130ºC/Gas mark 1 and continue baking until the tart shell is dry and golden brown all over.

  Remove the shell. If there are any cracks, use a little of the pastry scraps and the beaten egg yolk to patch them up while the tart shell is still hot.

• Whisk the filling briefly and skim off any big bubbles. Return the shell to the oven and with the door open, pour the filling into the shell right to the top. Carefully close the oven door and bake undisturbed for 50 minutes. Check the tart by very gently wobbling the tray. If the filling still seems liquid, give the tart another five to ten minutes.

• Once cooked, cool the tart for 10 minutes before trimming the overhanging pastry from the rim. Allow it to cool completely before lifting off the ring. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.