THE RETURN OF THE CLASSIC LEMON TART

A simple classic can sometimes be as great as any over the top baking showstopper. Call it a "Tarte Au Citron" if you want to make it sound fancy but really all you have here a cracking perfectly baked shortcrust filled with a zesty lemon custard. Not only is it tasty and delicious but everyone is going to think that you are amazing when you tell them you made it from scratch. Follow the recipe below and you can have a classic lemon tart made from scratch turning yourself into a classically trained pastry chef in an instant!

Lemon Tart 

 

 For The Pastry

100g Hard Butter (Cut Into Small Cubes)
 170g Plain Flour

30g Ground Almonds

50g Golden Caster Sugar

Zest Of 1 Lemon

Half Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 (Possibly 2) Egg Yolks
 

For The Filling

5 Eggs

140g Golden Caster Sugar
150ml Double Cream
Juice And Zest Of 3 Lemons
Icing Sugar To Finish

1. Begin with the pastry. Place the butter and flour into a bowl and with cold dry hands rub them together until all the butter is mixed in and it resembles breadcrumbs. Take the time to make sure all the butter is mixed in well so your pastry is nice and short when baked.
2. Mix in the almonds, sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Add in the vanilla extract and 1 egg yolk. Start to work the pastry together with your hand. If the dough
   
   is not coming together then add a second egg yolk.
3. Once the pastry has come together, roll into a tight ball and wrap in cling film. Leave in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes.
4. After resting in the fridge, take out your pastry and roll out the pastry on a floured surface as thin as you can so that it will fit into a 20cm tart tin. Use any leftover pastry to patch up holes. Prick the base a few times with a fork and place back in the fridge for another 3 minutes to chill.
5. Time to turn your oven on to 180 degrees (160 fan).
6. Place a piece of baking paper into the tart and pour in some baking beans (use rice if you don't have beans). Place the bean filled tart case into the oven for 10 minutes before removing the paper and beans and baking for a further 5 minutes. 
7. Whilst the pastry case is baking, prepare the filling by beating all the filling ingredients (expect the icing sugar) together until smooth and well combined.
8. Once the pastry is golden brown, remove the tart case from the oven and pour the filling mixture into the tart case. Place the tart back in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling has set with a slight wobble in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before sprinkling with some icing sugar to finish.

When you tart is baking, if you find that the pastry is browning far to quickly then place a piece of foil loosely over the tart and continue to bake to stop it form burning. The icing sugar adds a nice sweet burst to the top of the tart but is not essential. If you don't want to use icing sugar you can sprinkle over some extra lemon zest or just leave it completely naked. It's totally your choice. Serve with some single cream or a big dollop of ice cream and tuck in. You can replace the lemon zest and juice with lime or orange so that you have a trio of citrus tart recipes up your sleeves. You really can't beat a true baking classic!