French Lemon Tart

There are as many lemon tart recipes as there are bakers with Grandmas, and as Grandma will attest, the key to all tarts is making the curd. There is an important technique for making curd that is similar to making Cream Anglaise or custard, that must be carefully followed. Once you get the hang of it, things are not so bad, but you do have to use a Bain Marie, which is sometimes called a double boiling pot in America. This will be a very rich tart, so you will want to serve small portions. You need to make a tart crust prior to starting on the tart filling.

Ingredients

  • 2 Eggs + 2 egg yolks
  • 150 g Granulated Sugar (~0.75 cups)
  • 1 TBL Lemon zest (from 2-3 lemons)
  • 120 g Lemon Juice (~4 oz – from 2-3 lemons)
  • 115 g Butter – cubed (~4 oz)
  • g Heavy cream (~2 TBL)
  • 6 oz Heavy cream – for topping

Process

  1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
  2. Make your tart crust and let it cool in advance of starting on the tart filling.
  3. Construct your Bain Marie
    1. Find a pot and bowl that are sized such that the bowl can fit part way down the pot (about half way down).
    2. Fill the pot with water to a point where when the bowl is placed on top the bowl does not touch the water.
    3. Heat pot until water boils then reduce to a strong simmer. Meanwhile,
  4. Make Curd in the Bain Marie Bowl
    1. Mix eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cream
    2. Whisk to mix well
    3. Place bowl over simmer pot of water and stir constantly until the mixture thickens, which should be around when the mixture reaches 170 F.
    4. Make sure the bowl does not touch the simmering water, that you don’t run out of water, and that you constantly stir.
    5. Remove the bain marie bowl from the pot and strain through a fine strainer, this will remove the lemon zests and any cooked egg clumps you may have gotten because you didn’t stir well enough or let the curd get to hot.
    6. Add butter a few cubes at a time, whisking (mildly), until all the butter has been added and melted.
      • Whisking will make the curd light and airy.
    7. Place film on top of the curd to keep a skin from forming and let cool.
    8. Fill tart crust (shells) and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours.
    9. An hour before serving, top with whipped cream
  5. Make Whipped Cream Topping
    1. Add cream to a cold and dry mixing bowl.
    2. Mix on high until the cream becomes stiff (~8 mins)
    3. Fill a piping bag with the cream and pipe the tart with a decorative cream topping.

NOTE: This is a very rich desert so small slices are suggested.

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