The thing I love about summer holidays is that all of a sudden, out of nowhere, people seem to go mad for dinner parties. Even those who normally would be inclined to open a can of baked beans and nosh in with a spoon every night (ok, so bad example, that can be a very delish thing when you've got a craving) seem to think they are Gordon Ramesey, and invite people by the dozen to enjoy a bite together...
Fortunately all of the invites I've received so far are from people who have a bit more flair than that, BUT nevertheless they came in what seemed like millions.
I feel like I've been making a dessert to bring along every day this week!
In hindsight, that could just be because I tried to make precious little meringues and epically failed, so I had to do something else... Hahaha, can't say that it bothered me one iota, I hate meringues-they are quite possibly the least satisfying desert EVER! They tease you with their crunch and afterwards you get nothing on your tongue but the boring taste of castor sugar. I would prefer eat just castor sugar. But enough of that rant, its quite likely you don't feel as passionately as I do for those teasing, spiteful, crispy cups of air.
So with not many ingredients in the house (I've had fudge on the brain but my sister keeps eating the chocolate for it- I have re-bought 3 times and told her not to eat it. But still she does. I keep a meticulously organised pantry and THAT drives me irrationally crazy, like seriously, think The Shining and your close) so I turned to lemons.
Lemons are God's gift to the 'last minute', 'simple' and 'not too many ingredients' deserts. Think of all of the options- lemon slice, lemon drizzle cake, lemon delicious pudding, yo-yo's, lemon and poppy seed loaf, and finally (well not really because I could go on) lemon tart.
We all know lemon tarts are amazing. Nobody can deny that the are one of the all-time tops. You've got your cheesecake, you've got your flour-less chocolate, you've got your sticky date pudding- all of the classics. But the list just wouldn't be complete without a lemon tart.
This recipe was my first go at cooking one, and I think she's definitely a keeper, being super simple to make, requiring just ONE lemon (very good for my household as my sister would probably eat whole lemons if she knew I wanted to make something with them!) and, of course it tastes superb.
Whole Lemon Tart
Ingredients-
Filling-
1 lemon (preferably Meyer, and around 130 grams of lemon to be precise), rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups of castor sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons of cornflour
115 grams of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Tart Pastry (Dorie Greenspan's Un-shrinkable)-
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
130g of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 large egg
Method-
Pastry-
In the bowl of a food processor (yes this IS why I love this recipe) add the dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like small flakes or crumbs.
In a small bowl or glass, lightly whisk the egg, then add slowly, little by little, pulsing each time.
Set the mixer on a medium level until the colour and texture is uniform, if still s-crumby.
Knead quickly (don't over-knead) to get the dough to come together, then wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 2 hours (I didn't have time for this so I rolled it straight after kneading, and it worked fine, but I do recommend chilling).
Roll the dough with a rolling pin, into a 30cm circle, then place in a buttered or baking papered 20cm tin (less hassle and risk if you have a spring-form tin or one with a detachable base).
Press the dough into the edges and fold the extra dough that's hanging over to make sides that are doubly thick.
Make small cuts in the bottom of the tart to let the air our when baking.
Place in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake the tart until lightly golden.
Filling-
Cut the lemon into small slices, removing any seeds.
Place the lemon bits, and the sugar in the bowl of an food processor and mix on high until there are no chunks of lemon (well small one are rather nice so you don't have to be too pedantic), scraping down the sides every now and then.
Pour the lemon/sugar mix into a medium sized bowl, then add the egg, followed by the egg yolk, using a whisk to combine.
Sift in the cornflour, and then add the butter.
If you so please you can do the whole thing in the food processor, and the result is just as good, if not better. Come to think of it I'm a bit of a nin for sticking with the traditional method.
Pour the filling into your pre-baked tart shell and bake at 160°C for around 20 minutes, or until it is set.
Be careful with the temperature of your oven because the butter can separate from the mix and sit on top of the filling if the oven is too hot, so keep an eye out.
And to finish, ENJOY one of the all-time desert greats, taking a minute to appreciate how good you've got it :)
