Tarte au Citron – recipe from Beverley Glock Cookery School


See Brushetta for your Valentine’s Meal Starter

See Tarragon Chicken for your Valentine’s Meal Main Course


A classic French desert, literally lemon tart made with a sweet, rich shortcrust pastry.  If you don’t have any baking beans then line the pastry base with baking parchment and scatter over dried peas, beans or chickpeas instead.

Ingredients: for 1 large or 8 small tarts

225g plain flour

100g butter

50g sugar

1 egg

 

8 eggs

300ml double cream

6 lemons – juice and zest

300g caster sugar

 

You will need …….Weighing scales    2 Mixing bowls    Teaspoon    Tartlet tins Rolling pin  Baking beans    Baking parchment   Whisk    Chopping board   Sharp knife    Zester or grater  

 

How to make tarte au citron…….WASH YOUR HANDS

1.    Rub in the flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar, add the egg and mix to a dough, if it’s a little dry add a teaspoon or two of cold water.

2.    Roll out the pastry.  Grease 8 mini tartlet tins or one large tart tin.  Line the tins with the pastry and put into the freezer for 20-30 minutes or the fridge for 1 hour.

3.    Preheat the oven to 200oc/gas 7/AGA roasting oven. Remove the tartlet tins from the fridge or freezer, line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, if you have an AGA go straight to step 4.  Bake blind for 15-20 minutes for mini tartlet tins or 30-40 minutes for a large one.  Remove from the oven and discard the baking beans and liner.  Leave to cool.

4.    Beat together the eggs, cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar in a bowl until smooth and thick, pour into the tartlet tins.

5.    Bake for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is starting to set, (AGA – roasting oven, on oven floor,) if it needs longer to set place some tinfoil over the top to prevent the pastry from burning. Leave to cool and dust with icing sugar.