Spring has finally made an appearance and blueberries and lemons are calling to me. First up, Lemon Tarts
When I was in Paris I was on the hunt for tarts – specifically lemon tarts and strawberry tarts. Strawberries were out of season, so I had to settle for raspberry. The lemon tarts were by far my favorite. They had a shortbread tart (the raspberry ones were pastry) that worked well with the tart lemon filling. I’ve upped the game this week by adding a dollop of raspberry fruit spread (just fruit and sugar).
Lemon Tarts With Raspberry Topping
Lemon cream filling
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon butter
Toppings:
- Raspberry fruit spread
or
- whipped cream and fresh raspberries
Combine the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, water, lemon juice, lemon zest and butter in the top of a double boiler set over, but not touching, boiling water. Cook, stirring, until thick and creamy, about 5 or 6 minutes. Cool thoroughly before putting tarts together.
Okay, so all the recipes for lemon filling wanted a double-boiler. I started with one, but after 5 minutes of stirring and not thickening, I changed over to a saucepan and whisked it for 5 minutes while it boiled and thickened and had no issues with it burning or sticking. High altitude may have been the reason for my original troubles. Water boils at a lower temperature here, so the double boiler may not have offered enough heat to thicken the sauce.
Shortbread Tart
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups flour
baking sheet
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in flour and mix well, then knead for 3-5 minutes until dough forms a ball.
Press dough into mini-tart pans. Prick each with a fork . Bake for 15-20 minutes at 300° Cool thoroughly before assembling tart.
To assemble – add lemon filling to each cooled tart. Add a dollop of raspberry fruit spread*
*Or. alternatively, top with whipped cream and serve with crushed raspberries.
This made a lot of tarts, so I refrigerated half of everything and I’ll make more when these are gone.