Living Tastefully
  • Home
  • PAINTINGS
  • About
  • Passions-to-Pastry Blog
  • Contact
  • Recipes

Lemon Tarts

1/9/2008

2 Comments

 

There is probably nothing I would rather do than put on a Counting Crows CD and go into my kitchen to bake tarts, both sweet & savory.  And different seasons demand different tarts.  Mid-May when my rhubarb is finally ready to cut, I search for local organic strawberries and combine the two into a custard tart.  In June I begin baking apricots layered upon a coating of apple butter in an almond pastry shell that is served with homemade vanilla ice cream.  This leads to August when my 15-plus heirloom tomato plants begin producing and I bake my favorite savory tart from a French recipe that includes my Purple Cherokee tomatoes, gruyere cheese and nicoise olives.  Individual free-form apple tarts appear in September.  When January arrives I crave citrus and that means my lemon tart.  This is what my daughter Whitney requests for her birthday instead of a cake. 

I have a large selection of tinware to choose from when I make my tarts. 


                         
                                My Favorite Lemon Meringue Tart

Tart pastry
2 T. sliced almonds
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
5 1/3 T. very cold butter, 1/2" dice
3 T. ice water

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup water
3 T. cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T. butter
2 tsp. grated lemon rind

Meringue
4 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar

Make pastry dough and chill for 2 hours.  Line a 9-inch tart pan and bake blind at 400 degrees until golden brown. 

Dissolve sugar with salt in 3/4 cup of the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Mix the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup water and stir into the sugar-water mixture.  Stir constantly until thick and clear.  Remove from heat.  Beat egg yolks with lemon juice until slightly thickened and stir into cornstarch mixture.  Return to heat and bring back just to a boil.  Take from heat and stir in the butter and grated lemon rind.  Cool slightly and fill the baked tart shell.

To make meringue:  In a double boiler, beat egg whites and sugar constantly until mixture feels hot to the touch.  Beat with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer until glossy.  Either spread onto the tart or pipe with a pastry bag using a 1/2-inch tip.  Brown in a hot oven or use a butane torch. 

2 Comments
RS
1/9/2008 11:22:03 pm

Cool photos and story!

Reply
Tartelette link
1/10/2008 08:58:16 am

Thanks for the very nice email. It is always nice to hear and know more from my readers! I absolutely love lemon tarts! You're off to a great start with your blog!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture




    Picture
    Picture
    Enter your Email

    Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz






    Categories

    All
    Amana
    Appetizers
    Beef
    Breads
    Breakfast
    Cakes
    Chocolate
    Condiments
    Cookies
    Daring Bakers Challenge
    Desserts And Sweets
    Drinks
    Eggs
    Espresso
    Etcetera
    Fish
    French Bulldogs
    Friday Night Dinner
    Fruit
    Germany
    Gratins
    Great Kitchens
    Grilling
    Ice Cream
    Lamb
    Main Dishes
    Muffins
    My Garden
    My Kitchen Renovation
    New Years Day Brunch
    Paris
    Pasta
    Pork
    Poultry
    Provence
    Restaurants
    Rhubarb
    Rice
    Salads
    Scones
    Seafood
    Side Dish
    Soup
    Sunday Mornings
    Sweet And Savory Tarts
    Thanksgiving
    Tomatoes
    Vegetables
    Vegetarian

  • Home
  • PAINTINGS
  • About
  • Passions-to-Pastry Blog
  • Contact
  • Recipes