New Experiments and a Fresh Tart

Lemon and Lime Tart

I love citrusy and tangy foods. I have made a lemon meringue tart only once before, four years ago, inspired by my brief stint in the South of France at the time. For some odd reason as much as I enjoy this dessert, I have not made it since. 

Then Delicious magazine came and it was on the cover page and calling out to me to bake it, in an attempt to expand my repertoire. Of all the shortcrust pastry recipes I have tried, this one turned out the best. I didn't have to mould and press and mend the dough into the tart tin. It fell in in one go and did not break, so I will definitely be using this recipe again. 

The tart filling had the right amount of zest and sourness I thought (if you prefer your tart sweeter, this tart is not for you!). However, it was slightly under cooked and needed perhaps another 10 minutes. I made small tarts with the leftover pastry and filling and they were a good alternative if you prefer a less citrusy filling to pastry ratio!

Rick Stein's Lemon and Lime Tart (serves 10-12)
(Takes 25 minutes to make, 50 minutes to cook, plus resting and cooling)

Ingredients

For the pastry
250g plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
25g icing sugar
150g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
2 medium free-range egg yolks
1 egg white, lightly beaten

For the filling
3 large or 4 small lemons
2 limes
6 eggs
250g granulated sugar
150mL double cream
icing sugar to dust (optional)

Method - For the Pastry

1. Begin by sifting the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Next, chop your butter into small cubes and, if you have a magimix, pulse until it resembles fine crumbs. 

Add the yolks and 1-2 tbsp water, then pulse again until the pastry comes together. Remove and gently knead the dough before wrapping in cling film and leaving to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

2. Once the pastry has chilled, roll it into a thin layer (using flour to dust) to line a 25cm diameter, 3cm deep loose bottomed tart tin. Prick the base of the tart with a fork and put it into the fridge to chill for 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC/gas 6/395ºF and place a baking tray in the oven to pre-heat as well.

3. Line the tart tin with baking paper and baking beans, and bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are very lightly browned. Remove the baking paper and beans, and bake for another 4 minutes. Remove once again, brush with the whisked egg white, and return to the oven for a final two minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 120ºC/fan 100ºC/gas ½/250ºF.

For the filling

1. Begin by grating the zest from the lemons and set aside, then squeeze the juice from all of the lemons and limes (to achieve 150-175ml of liquid). In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and sugar together by hand (you don’t want the eggs to be frothy), add the citrus juice and cream, and sieve the resulting mixture. Add the lemon zest last.

2. To bake the tart, to avoid spilling, Rick Stein suggests placing the baking sheet back in the oven, placing the pastry case on the tray and pulling the shelf half way out of the oven. Pour the filling into the pastry case, slide the shelf back into the oven and cook for approximately 50 minutes (until just set). The mixture should be quite wobbly in the centre still but will continue to firm up after it comes out of the oven. Remove from the oven and leave to cool (don’t refrigerate). Dust with icing if you feel inclined and serve on the same day if you can.

Perfect pastry

Fresh out of oven

Slightly runnier than it should be

Mini lemon tarts