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The perfect melt-in-the-mouth dessert: a traditional French lemon tart made with a rich, shortcrust-style pastry
Ingredients
For the pastry:
150g (5oz) plain flour
Pinch of salt
100g (3½oz) unsalted butter
50g (1¼oz) caster sugar
1 medium egg
Few drops of vanilla extract
For the filling:
3 medium eggs
100g (3½oz) caster sugar
142ml carton double cream
Finely zested rind and juice of 3 lemons
Icing sugar, for dusting
23cm (9in) fluted flan tin
Nutritional information
Each portion contains:
Calories290
15%
Fat18.0g
26%
of an adult's guideline daily amount
Low
Med
High
More Information
Close
This nutritional information is only a guide and is based on 2,000 calories per day. For more information on eating a healthy diet, please visit the Food Standards Agency website.
Guideline Daily Amount for 2,000 calories per day are: 70g fat, 20g saturated fat, 90g sugar, 6g salt.
To make the pastry: Place all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to bind together. Alternatively, tip the flour and salt into a bowl, and add the butter, cut into chunks. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and then add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix to bind the ingredients together.
Tip the dough out on to a floured worktop and knead it very lightly to give a smooth surface, then roll it out and use it to line the flan tin. Chill the pastry case for at least 15 minutes. Set the oven to Gas Mark 5 or 190°C and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up.
Line pastry case with a sheet of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 12 minutes, then carefully lift out the parchment paper with the baking beans and return the case to the oven for a further 3-5 minutes, or until light golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to Gas Mark 4 or 180°C.
To make the filling: Beat the eggs, then add sugar, cream and lemon rind and juice, and mix well. Pour mixture into the pastry case, filling it almost to the top.
Bake the tart in the centre of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the edges of the filling have set and it is just slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven, slide the flan tin on to a wire rack and leave the tart to cool in the tin for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely. Chill the tart well, and dust it with icing sugar just before serving.
Top tip: Try to keep the pastry very cool, and handle it as little as possible to make it really short, crumbly and melt-in-the mouth.Feature: Sue McMahon. Photos: frankthephotographer.com. Props stylist: Sue Radcliffe.
What do you think of this recipe? Leave us your comments, twists and handy tips.
Your comments
Kat Hale
Hi i have made this before and it was great. I am about to make it again however i am only using small tart cases so was wondering would the tarts be ok to freeze for a later date?
thanks
Kat Hale
Hi do you know if the tart would be ok to freeze?
Katy goodtoknow Recipes
Hi there - hope this helps - the pastry only needs handling very lightly, and you can try chilling it in the fridge for longer - either in the pastry case or in a ball wrapped in cling film. Re: the icing sugar, try waiting until the tart has completely cooled, make sure there are no lumps in your icing sugar and use a sieve with very small holes. We wouldn't recommend halving this recipe as the ingredients won't all scale down exactly the same, but you could spread the mixture between two small tins...
DR1964
Made this for yesterday's dessert, delicious! need advice on a couple of things though. 1. I found the pastry quite difficult to handle, it kept breaking up when I was rolling it out and when I tried to lift it into the flan tin, is this normal? 2. I must have overcooked it because it cracked a little bit when I took it out of the oven, I sprinkled icing sugar over it but it just soaked in, didn't look "snowy" like the pic above! And how can I reduce the ingredients to make a small one, maybe to serve just 4?
princeproductions
Hello! I LOVED this recipe! I chose it as my first bake in my Around the World in EIghty Bakes challenge and I'm blogging about all of my bakes here... http://wp.me/p1SVs7-d I definitely recommend this recipe! Beautiful!
Charlotte Deputy Editor
I love nothing better than a lemon dessert - delish!
Rachel
I made this for Boxing Day this year - it went down a treat. I took an educated guess and froze it, and there didn't seem to be any issues with it at all. Was very yummy and I will make it again!
Kate
Does this tart freeze well? Cheers, K
noreen pape
i made this tart for dessert on new years eve, and it went down a storm,i followed the instructions taking the tart out of the oven when still a slight wobble in the middle it was perfect, i will add this to my recipe book, it was the perfect....
Sue McMahon
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! The tart will crack if it's overcooked - it needs to be removed from the oven when it's still slightly wobbly as it will finish cooking from the residual heat. The reason that eggs are used is to set the filling and the eggs contain protein, which when overcooked will shrink and cause the top to crack. If it does crack, then I'd suggest piling some fresh raspberries on top and dusting some icing sugar over them - this will then hide any cracks.
J Carke
This tart was delicious,but can you tell me anyone why the top cracks a bit as it spoilt the look of it
Your comments
Kat Hale
Hi i have made this before and it was great. I am about to make it again however i am only using small tart cases so was wondering would the tarts be ok to freeze for a later date? thanks
Kat Hale
Hi do you know if the tart would be ok to freeze?
Katy goodtoknow Recipes
Hi there - hope this helps - the pastry only needs handling very lightly, and you can try chilling it in the fridge for longer - either in the pastry case or in a ball wrapped in cling film. Re: the icing sugar, try waiting until the tart has completely cooled, make sure there are no lumps in your icing sugar and use a sieve with very small holes. We wouldn't recommend halving this recipe as the ingredients won't all scale down exactly the same, but you could spread the mixture between two small tins...
DR1964
Made this for yesterday's dessert, delicious! need advice on a couple of things though. 1. I found the pastry quite difficult to handle, it kept breaking up when I was rolling it out and when I tried to lift it into the flan tin, is this normal? 2. I must have overcooked it because it cracked a little bit when I took it out of the oven, I sprinkled icing sugar over it but it just soaked in, didn't look "snowy" like the pic above! And how can I reduce the ingredients to make a small one, maybe to serve just 4?
princeproductions
Hello! I LOVED this recipe! I chose it as my first bake in my Around the World in EIghty Bakes challenge and I'm blogging about all of my bakes here... http://wp.me/p1SVs7-d I definitely recommend this recipe! Beautiful!
Charlotte Deputy Editor
I love nothing better than a lemon dessert - delish!
Rachel
I made this for Boxing Day this year - it went down a treat. I took an educated guess and froze it, and there didn't seem to be any issues with it at all. Was very yummy and I will make it again!
Kate
Does this tart freeze well? Cheers, K
noreen pape
i made this tart for dessert on new years eve, and it went down a storm,i followed the instructions taking the tart out of the oven when still a slight wobble in the middle it was perfect, i will add this to my recipe book, it was the perfect....
Sue McMahon
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! The tart will crack if it's overcooked - it needs to be removed from the oven when it's still slightly wobbly as it will finish cooking from the residual heat. The reason that eggs are used is to set the filling and the eggs contain protein, which when overcooked will shrink and cause the top to crack. If it does crack, then I'd suggest piling some fresh raspberries on top and dusting some icing sugar over them - this will then hide any cracks.
J Carke
This tart was delicious,but can you tell me anyone why the top cracks a bit as it spoilt the look of it