White Chocolate Culinary Harvest Meyer Lemon Tart Food

THE BEST EVER LEMON TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 190°C, Gas Mark 5.
• Melt the butter gently and mix together with the flour, icing sugar and water. Press the soft dough into the base and up the sides of a fluted flan ring.
• Pierce the base several times and bake blind on a baking tray in the oven for 20 minutes until golden.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C, Gas Mark 2.
• Grate the rind of the lemon and then juice. Place caster sugar, eggs, cream, in a bowl with the lemon rind and juice. Whisk together until blended, then carefully pour into the cooked pastry case.
• Return to the oven and cook for a further 35-40 minutes until set.
• Enjoy!

LIGHT LEMON TART

Steps:

• Place flour and butter in a food processor and process until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
• Add icing sugar, oil, egg yolk and 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoon cold water and process until mixture just forms a ball.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly and shape into a disc and roll out to a 25cm round and ease into a 2cm deep 23cm loose base flan pan and trim edges and lightly prick base with a fork and chill for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 190C to 170c fan force and place pan on a baking tray and line pastry with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes and then remove paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes or until pale golden in colour.
• Meanwhile, to make filling, whisk eggs and eggwhites until well combines.
• Sift icing sugar into a bowl and then gradually whisk in egg and stir in lemon rind and juice.
• Strain through a fine sieve and add sour cream and whisk until smooth.
• Carefully pour into warm pastry case.
• Reduce oven to 150c or 130c fan forced and bake tart for 25 to 30 minutes until just set and still wobbly in centre.
• Cool for 1 hour and dust with extra icing sugar.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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.

MEYER LEMON TART

Steps:

• Sugar Cookie Tartlet Crust:.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, kosher salt, cream and vanilla, until mixture is moist and crumbly.
• Press dough into four 4-inch tart pans (or one 9 or 10 inch tart pan) and press it up the sides, making sure the layer on the bottom is even.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust is set and firm at the edges. Cool, then fill with desired filling and bake as that recipe directs.
• Meyer Lemon Curd Tart Filling:.
• In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally.
• In a large bowl, whisk together zest, eggs and egg yolks. When sugar mixture comes to a boil, pour very small amounts down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture while whisking continuously to temper the mixture. Continue to add only a few tablespoons at a time until all has been incorporated.
• Transfer egg mixture back to sauce pan and return to stove. Cook on medium heat until thickened, about 8 minutes, whisking frequently.
• Remove custard from stove and whisk in butter, adding in one piece at a time.
• When all butter has been added, cool curd for 15 minutes before pouring into prepared tart crusts.
• Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours before serving.

THE PERFECT LEMON TART

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
• Have ready an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add 1 Tablespoon of the zest, and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Whisk together the flour, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl.
• Pour in the butter mixture in a fine stream, stirring with a fork, and continue stirring until the dough begins to come together when a small bit is pressed between your fingers.
• Transfer the mixture to the tart pan and press it with your fingertips evenly up the side and into the bottom.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is light golden brown.
• Let cool on a wire rack while making the filling.
• Process the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of zest in a food processor until the zest is finely ground.
• Whisk together the eggs, the sugar and zest mixture, the lemon juice, and another pinchy of salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
• Beat the cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a medium bowl just until it forms soft peaks.
• Whisk the cream into the egg mixture until just blended.
• Place a baking sheet in the oven, place the crust on the baking sheet, and pour the filling into the still-warm crust.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is just set in the center.
• Let the pie cool on a wire rack.
• Just before service, generously sift confectioners' sugar over the tart.
• Cut into wedges and serve.
• Note: You may wish to use slightly less zest than called for, and taste the batter.
• My lemons were extremely powerful, and I only needed 1 1/2 Tablespoons total of zest.