When life gives you lemons, make a tart!
There is something so refreshing about lemony desserts. I have never been able to resist a lemon tart (or any dessert for that matter- lets be real). It's so easy to fool yourself into thinking that it's somewhat healthy (there's lemon and lemon's a fruit!)
Lemon Tart
This recipe makes a large 12 inch tart.
Tart Crust
2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a food processor (a few pulses should do it). Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the vanilla and egg and pulse until the mixture begins to clump. At this point, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until it all comes together into a ball. Form it into a thick disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375F and place rack in the center. After 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator and return to floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large circle, slightly larger than your tart pan. Place gently into your tart pan and with a sharp knife trim away the excess dough from the edges to fit the tart pan. Using a fork, prick it all over. Cover with parchment paper to prevent it from getting too much colour as it bakes. You may wish to weight the pie shell using beans or pie weights (I did-just in case). Bake using the center rack of your oven for 25 minutes, removing the parchment paper after about 20 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your crust, you may need to leave it in for a few more minutes. Place on a cooling rack and allow to fully cool before filling.
Lemon filling
4 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks, whisked
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup butter, cubed
1. Fill a saucepan with about an inch of water and bring to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl so that it is sitting on top of the saucepan. Place the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest in the bowl and whisk together. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens.
2. When the mixture is thick, turn off the heat and begin to slowly add the butter, whisking constantly. When mixture has come together, run through a sieve and then set aside to cool completely. When cool, add to your tart shell and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Enjoy!
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