Martha Stewart Lemon Tart Filling Food

LEMON-MERINGUE TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place six 3 1/4-inch tart rings on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and set aside.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pate sucree into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully transfer dough to a baking sheet; chill until firm.
• Using a 4 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out six circles from dough and fit each circle into prepared tart rings, pressing crust into bottom and against sides; chill until firm. Trim edges to make even. Line chilled tart shells with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until bottom of crust is lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove pie weights and parchment paper; pierce bottom of dough with tines of a fork. Reduce temperature to 325 and continue baking until crust is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes more. Carefully remove tart rings and transfer tart shells to a wire rack to cool.
• Fill cooled tart shells with lemon curd. Pipe about 1/4 cup meringue onto the surface of each tartlet in a decorative pattern. Transfer tartlets to freezer until chilled.
• Using a kitchen torch, toast meringue, moving flame back and forth until evenly browned, or place tartlets under a preheated broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to brown.

RUSTIC MEYER LEMON TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the crust: Whisk together flour, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the lemon zest in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until dough begins to hold together.
• Stir together 1 tablespoon water and vanilla, then mix into dough. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Using your fingers, press dough evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze for 30 minutes.
• Bake tart shell until golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the lemon curd: Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Whisk in lemon zest and juice. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, 1 piece at a time.
• Pour filling into cooled tart shell. Bake until filling is browned, slightly puffed, and set, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely.

LEMON TART

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar over low heat; whisk until incorporated. Add half the butter, and continue to whisk to prevent mixture from curdling. Once mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, add remaining butter and stir until very thick. (If mixture curdles, quickly remove from heat; strain into a bowl, and immediately cool over an ice bath.) Remove from heat, and continue stirring until lukewarm. (Speed up the cooling process by transferring the filling to a bowl resting in an ice bath.)
• Heat broiler, if using. Spoon lemon filling into tart shell. Prevent crust from burning by placing a tart ring upside down over top edges of tart. Place under broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, or until top is speckled with brown, caramelized spots; rotate tart, if necessary. Alternatively, you may also use a small kitchen torch. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

LEMON CUSTARD TARTS

Steps:

• Pate Sucree Extra:Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. In a liquid-measuring cup, whisk together ice water and egg yolks. With machine running, add egg-yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, about 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together; if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
• Divide one disk into 6 equal pieces (reserve remaining disk for another use). On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a 6-inch round with a rolling pin. Using your fingers, press rounds into bottom and up sides of six 4-inch round tart pans. Trim edges and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line each tart shell with parchment, pressing it into corners and edges, then fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until sides are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove parchment and beans. Continue baking until bottoms are cooked through and lightly golden, about 10 minutes more. Let cool completely.
• Filling:Whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks until thoroughly combined. Whisk in lemon juice. Divide filling among tart shells. Bake until filling is set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate until well chilled.
• Italian Meringue:In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil. Continue boiling until a candy thermometer registers 238 to 240 degrees (soft-ball stage). Meanwhile, in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form (do not overbeat). Increase speed to high and add sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream, beating until mixture stops steaming, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip; pipe as desired. Using a small kitchen torch held at a 90-degree angle, move flame back and forth 3 inches from surface of meringue until it starts to brown (or broil 6 to 8 inches from heat source, about 1 minute). Serve immediately.

LEMON FILLING

Steps:

• Sift sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a medium saucepan. Gradually blend in 1/2 cup cold water and lemon juice. Place saucepan over medium-low heat, and whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks and 2 tablespoons butter, and blend thoroughly. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened, and add 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Continue stirring until mixture reaches desired thickness, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat, and stir in lemon peel; rub surface lightly with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent a skin from forming. Can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

LEMON TASSIES

Steps:

• Blend together cream cheese and butter. Stir in flour, form into a ball and chill at least one hour.
• Divide into 24 balls, place in ungreased miniature muffin tins and press dough against bottom and up the sides.
• Combine filling ingredients and mix well, divide among tart shells.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until set.
• Cool them for several minutes and gently remove them from the tins.

MEYER LEMON TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: in the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and the milk, and beat to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with salt. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture, stirring until completely blended. Gather dough into two balls. Freeze one for future use, chill the other for at least 1 hour.
• Heavily butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan and trim the edges. Prick the bottom with a fork, and place the shell in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• While shell is in freezer, prepare lemon curd. Grate zest of lemons. Squeeze lemons to extract 1 cup of juice. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine juice and zest. Add remaining sugar, butter and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
• In bowl of a mixer, combine eggs and egg yolks until blended. Slowly add hot lemon mixture to eggs until blended. Return mixture to saucepan, and place over low heat. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency; do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat, and continue to stir to stop the cooking. Strain lemon curd into a bowl. Adjust sugar to taste; the curd should be tart, but may need additional sugar if the lemons were unripe. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it right against the surface of the curd. Allow to cool.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove tart shell from freezer, and bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Spoon lemon curd into tart shell, and smooth the top. Bake until filling has puffed around the edges, about 30 minutes. Cover edges with foil, if necessary, to prevent over-browning. Cool to room temperature before serving.

LEMON-RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. In a food processor, pulse vanilla wafers until finely ground (to yield 2 cups). Add butter, and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened.
• Transfer crumb mixture to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Place pan on a baking sheet; bake crust until lightly browned and set, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven.
• In clean food processor, blend ricotta, cream cheese, eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon zest and juice until smooth. Pour into hot crust in pan; bake until filling is set and browned in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, dust top of tart with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

SIMPLE LEMON TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove short-crust dough from refrigerator. Remove parchment paper covering top, and invert onto a baking sheet. Press an 11-inch flan ring in center of short-crust dough to cut out a circle. Keeping flan ring on baking sheet, trim excess dough from outside of ring, and reserve for another use. Prick circle of dough several times with a fork. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Remove dough-lined flan ring from refrigerator. Bake until light golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
• Combine creme fraiche, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, vanilla bean, and sugar in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, and stir in softened gelatin sheets. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium-size bowl. Cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Set mixture in an ice bath to cool to 100 degrees.
• Add butter, and using a handheld immersion blender, mix for 5 minutes. Pour into prebaked tart shell. Chill until mixture is firm, 2 to 3 hours.
• Just before serving, sprinkle individual slices with a light, even layer of sugar. Caramelize sugar to a golden brown, using a blowtorch or placing under a broiler.