Silky Lemon Tart

Last saturday me and my friends decided to have a pot luck dinner. I said I would do dessert, as it would be a good challenge for me since I normally pick to do savoury dishes over sweet. Currently, I am obsessed with My Kitchen Rules. Everyone on the show always makes their own pastry so I thought I would give it a go. This is a recipe from Annabel Langbein’s book, Simple Pleasures.

This recipe makes enough pastry for two large tarts so you can pop half in the freezer or fridge for another day. If preferred, use two sheets of bought sweet shortcrust pastry. The tart is a great dessert for a dinner party as it can be made up to a day ahead and chilled until needed. It’s also good because it suits dessert lovers but also people who aren’t into sweet stuff.

Prep time: 10 minutes + chilling

Cook time: about 1 hour

Serves 10-12

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

360g butter, softened
¾ cup caster sugar
1 egg
3 1/3 cups flour
Lightly beaten egg white to brush pastry case (reserve yolk for filling)

Silky Lemon Filling

¾ cup lemon juice
7 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cup caster sugar
1 ¼ cup (300g) thickened cream

To garnish (optional)

fresh raspberries

Method:

To make the pastry, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine. Add flour and mix until just combined (it will be soft). Turn out onto a lightly floured board and use floured hands to shape two sausage-shaped portions each about 6 cm in diameter. Wrap separately in waxed paper and put half in the fridge or freezer for another day. Chill the rest for at least 30 minutes before using to make the tart base.

Spray or brush the base and sides of a 30cm-diameter tart tin with a little oil or butter – always be generous as you do not want the tart to stick to the tin. Slice the pastry into rounds about ½ cm thick, arrange in a single layer in the tart tin like a jigsaw puzzle and press together to cover the base and sides. Chill for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180° Cover chilled tart with baking paper and fill with uncooked rice or beans to weight down the pastry. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove baking paper and rice or beans, brush pastry lightly with egg white and cook for further 8 minutes until lightly golden and dry. Reduce oven temperature to 130°C.
To make the Silky Lemon Filling, combine all ingredients in a pot and warm very gently over a low heat until just lukewarm (about 50°C) – if you do not have a thermometer like me, just test the mixture with your finger. Don’t let it get too hot. Pour filling into cooked tart case (to prevent spills, place tart case in the oven first). Bake at 130°C until just set (30-35 minutes). It will still have a little wobble in the centre but will firm up as it cools.
Stand for 1 hour before serving chilled or at room temperature, garnished with raspberries, if using. I also served mine with some unsweetened yoghurt.