It’s no secret that I’m a total Francophile, and half of that comes from French cuisine and patisserie.
A few years ago, I did a summer abroad in Tours, France (Loire Valley) and was probably indulging in 2-3 pastries/desserts per day (plus probably half a bottle of wine). Miraculously, I gained no weight because I walked all over everyday. I highly recommend this diet.
While testing pastries, I always loved the crusts of any tart I tried. They weren’t too sweet but had a texture and taste that perfectly complemented any filling. This tart is no exception, with a deliciously creamy, tangy lemon filling and raspberries that add lovely colour and sweetness.
Bon Appetit!
Gear
- 8-9 inch buttered pastry ring
Pastry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 2/3 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1 2/3 cups flour
Filling Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup diced butter
- Raspberries, to garnish
Steps
To make pastry, sift icing sugar over butter in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla, ground almonds and salt and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add egg and beat in until incorporated.
Sift the flour into the batter and beat until just incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and let rest 10 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until about 2mm (just under 1/8 inch) thick. Drape the dough over your rolling pin and transfer it to pastry ring, settling dough into corners. Prick bottom all over with a fork and trim any overhang (if you like, roll it out again for a mini tart or cookies) with a knife. Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes and cool completely.
To make lemon cream filling, peel zest of both lemons in strips into small saucepan.
Add lemon juice, sugar and eggs and heat over medium heat while whisking constantly until you reach a simmer. At this point, it will be thick and coat the back of a spoon.
In a medium bowl, add diced butter and strain lemon mixture into the butter. Mix with an immersion blender or whisk until smooth.
Let the curd cool slightly and pour into baked shell. Garnish with raspberries and chill for at least one hour.
Recipe adapted from Patisserie by Christophe Felder
Pie Girl Bakes 