Lemon Tart Recipe Lemon Crostata From The River Cafe Cookbook

THE RIVER CAFE'S LEMON TART

Steps:

• Sweet Pastry: Pulse flour, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add confectioners' sugar followed by egg yolks and pulse. The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl. Remove pastry, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Tart: Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
• Coarsely grate chilled pastry into a 12-inch loose-bottomed fluted tart pan, then press it evenly onto the sides and base. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Line pastry shell with parchment and fill with raw rice or dried beans (or baking beans). Bake blind 20 minutes. Remove paper and rice, then bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Let cool.
• Meanwhile, make filling. Put lemon zest and juice, granulated sugar, eggs, and egg yolks in a large saucepan over a very low heat and whisk until eggs have broken up and sugar has dissolved.
• Add half the butter and continue to whisk. At this point the eggs will start to cook, and the mixture will thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add remaining butter and continue whisking until mixture becomes very thick. It is important to keep whisking throughout cooking process to prevent mixture from curdling.
• Remove pan from heat and set it on a cold heatproof surface. Continue to whisk until mixture is lukewarm. Meanwhile, preheat broiler to high.
• Spoon lemon filling into pastry shell and let settle 5 minutes. Broil until top is mottled brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool before serving.

WHOLE-LEMON TART

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 325 degrees. Place the crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Cut the lemon into thin slices, and discard the seeds. Toss the slices and sugar into the bowl of a food processor, and whir for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed, until smooth. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, and then, when they're incorporated, the cornstarch followed by the melted butter. Remove the bowl, and rap it against the counter a few times to pop some of the bubbles in the mixture. Pour the batter into the crust.
• Bake the tart for 45 to 55 minutes, until the filling is puffed and lightly browned - don't be concerned if the top cracks. If you tap the side of the pan, the filling should seem firm; if it jiggles just the least bit in the center, that's fine. A toothpick poked into the center - be gentle - will come out clean. Transfer the tart on the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Leave until it reaches room temperature. The tart can be served now or chilled (it will keep in the refrigerator overnight).
• Just before serving, dust the top with confectioners' sugar.

THE BEST LEMON TART EVER

Steps:

• Combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer; mix ingredients thoroughly with a paddle attachment. Mix flour into butter mixture to make a smooth dough. Press dough into a 9-inch tart pan; refrigerate crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake crust until light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Whisk sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup flour in a bowl until smooth. Pour lemon filling into crust. Cover edges of crust with strips of aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Bake tart until filling is set, about 20 minutes. Cool completely and dust with confectioners' sugar.

SWEET AND SIMPLE LEMON TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.
• Combine butter with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a bowl until smooth; stir in 1 cup flour. Press dough into prepared baking pan; pierce crust with fork in several places to prevent crust from puffing up during baking.
• Bake crust in the preheated oven until slightly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
• Whisk white sugar and eggs in a bowl; stir 3 tablespoons flour into mixture and add lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into baked tart crust.
• Bake until filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and dust with 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar.