:: Lemon Divine ::

The best ever Lemon Tart

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: the best ever lemon tart ::

Ahhh, Melbourne. The food love of my life. If there was one thing I used to love about working in the cafe scene was the sensation of ordering a sweet lemon tart to accompany my always perfect latte. CafeSegovia in Melbourne's Block Arcade would have to be where my obsession started. The small, yet busy cafe, was not only a source of income for me during some penny pinching years whilst studying, but owners also dutifully fed me with generous staff meals & treats. I have to admit, I wasn’t the greatest waitress in the world, but working there was some of the happiest times I can remember. It was a carefree environment full of laughter where simply working the Friday Jazz nights or hearing the newly released Santana’s ‘Smooth’ (yes, it was summer of '99 if I recall!) over & over on the stereo would fill me with joy.

:: pouring the mixture into the blind baked pastry ::

I came across this divine, yet relatively easy, recipe in Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion once when I had too many lemons & I knew instantly it was the one which would transport me back to one of my favourite places of employment. The luxuriously smooth lemony curd is ideal for a hot Summers day dessert to cut through the empowerment of any meal & to finish it off with perfection. Not to mention the lively green mint with the golden lemon looks very Australian for Australia Day on the 26^th January!

Pastry - check... lemons - check... other fridge/pantry items - check.... 
now let's go!

1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry

3 large lemons

6 eggs

250g caster sugar

200 ml cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

pure icing (confectioner's) sugar to dust

Line a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with pastry, then bake blind at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove pastry weights & parchment paper then bake for another 5 minutes, until just cooked through. Reset your oven to 160°C (320°F).

:: preparing the mixture ::

Zest and juice the 3 lemons. Combine eggs & sugar until well combined, then add the zest & lemon juice & stir. Add cream & vanilla seeds/paste & mix well using a whisk. Pour into just-baked pastry case and bake for 35-45 minutes until almost set & just turning a golden blonde on top. Cool in tin for at least 30 minutes before serving however, as it's a custard base, it's ideal chilled in the fridge for at least an additional 30 minutes to allow it to fully set. Serve dusted with icing sugar and with thick cream.

Serve

:: I like to serve my lemon tart with double thickened cream & a light dusting of icing sugar.

:: adding a festive touch ::

Style

:: I couldn’t help myself this festive season when I made this recipe- I cut out some white chocolate stars & piped some of the remainder melted white chocolate over a slice to present. To garnish I used some baby mint leaves to accentuate colour & freshness.

:: lemon fresh ::

Kitchen Notes

:: Short of time & don’t want to make your own pastry? For a home-made result I highly recommend the amazingly gourmet Carême VanillaBean Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (located in speciality food stores, such as Essential Ingredient) - or Pampas Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (located in Supermarkets). This pastry is incredible... hand-made in their kitchens just for you.

:: As it is a loose bottom tin, I like to place it on a tray to remove & place back in the oven with ease. This way there is no chance of you accidentally breaking the crust of your pastry by putting your hand through the base!

:: Remember that the lemon filling will continue to set upon cooling.

Update
:: Today I made it with rather sweet lemons & found 250g of caster sugar to be too much - you can easily adjust the sweetness of your tart by simply adding less sugar - approximately 200g of caster sugar (give or take) in this circumstance. 
:: I place any leftover lemony egg mixture into oven safe dishes (try tea cups) with some rasberries sprinkled on top & bake for 25-30 minutes as a chefs/toddlers treat! Yummy.

:: freshly baked easy lemon tart ::

Dedicated to Owen Brokensha

:: Sharing fond memories of my life-long friend: he used to come & visit me on my break at Cafe Segovia for a coffee, dessert & a little gossip. It was tremendous working so close by each other!

From Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion, 1996.

I would also love to see your Megann's Kitchen Creations/photos of recipes that you have made on Megann’s Kitchen Facebook!