whole lemon tart + strawberry tart
This past weekend not one but two tarts exited my kitchen in a new Envirosax tote bag, both entirely inspired by the city of Paris. The first headed for my friend Molly’s dinner party on Friday night, a take on the classic tarte au citron (lemon tart) so fabulous, I might never make stove-top curd citrus curd again. I’ve mentioned before an ongoing fascination with “whole citrus” recipes, those that know that the whole shebang–from peel to pith to pulp–smartly leveraged in a dish is infinitely more satisfying that those that just go for the more low-hanging ingredient of juice. This entire tart is made with one single lemon, ground to a pulp with sugar, then mixed with egg, melted butter and cornstarch and seared in a par-baked crust until the top is bubbly and the taste is absolutely worth bragging about. The simplicity of ingredients alone makes it worthwhile, but the grown-up flavor with the bitter, fragrant vibe straight from the lemon’s edge makes it ready for its close-up. I can’t wait to make it next with two key limes, half a ruby red grapefruit or a whole orange.
Sunday barbeques, especially ones that celebrate a certain SantaDad’s birthday, and multiple fathers’ days are no time for the new and the new-fangled. Now that we’re more or less past crumble season (baking fruit for an hour seems, well, unseemly with two window a/c units running), and berries are flooding the Greenmarkets, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist making simple berry tarts for much longer. You start with a fully-baked sweet tart shell, make a simple crème patisserie (pastry cream) and if you really want to blow some minds, do so with half of a fresh vanilla bean instead of extract. Simple as can be, you can make the shell, custard, and even prep the fruit the day before (custard actually keeps for several days in the fridge, longer in the freezer), and assemble it as close to the time you serve it as possible, as in the timeless words of Julia Child, “nobody likes a soggy bottom.”
Because it’s hard to miss those jagged edges, I must mention that I have been struggling with my pate sablees (sweet cookie crusts with sugar and eggs) lately, and while I suspect there are many things to blame–namely that I don’t seem to have enough pie weights to hold the sides up in the par-bake, and was out of dried beans that could be used instead–seeing as I followed all the other rules of the tart dough–keep it cold! Don’t stretch the dough!–I have decided, somewhat illogically, to instead blame the recipe I’ve been using, which includes ground almonds. I think next time I’ll go back to a pâte sucrée (flaky pie crust with just sugar) and see if it fixes things. Eventually, however, I think I’ll have to question my skills, but I hope to put that off as long as possible. I’m sure you understand.
Finally, thank you so much for your overwhelming support so far in the GrillMe contest! I have no doubt you are sick of hearing about it by now, but since Alex and my friends tell me I need to get over my discomfort shamelessly self-promoting, I am only going to gently remind you that the contest is open until Thursday and you can vote for as many food bloggers as you’d like, not just this here one that actually had a dream about going to Napa last night with her new boyfriend. Furthermore, and I have been completely remiss (read: clueless) in not mentioning this before, but when you enter your email address to vote, your name goes into a daily drawing to win a copy of Mastering the Grill! Not bad, eh?
Whole-Lemon Tart (Tarte au Citron)
Rollet-Pradier, Paris via Paris Sweets, Dorie Greenspan
1 partially baked 9-inch (24-cm) tart shell made from Sweet Tart Dough
1 average-sized lemon (about 4 1/2 ounces; 130 grams), rinsed and dried
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1 stick (4 ounces; 115 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven 325°F (165°C). Line a trimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put the tart shell on the sheet.
Slice the lemon into thin wedges, remove the seeds, and toss the lemon and sugar into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend or process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed and blended with the sugar, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the mixture into a bowl and, using a whisk, gently stir in the whole egg and the yolk, followed by the cornstarch and melted butter. Pour the filling into the crust.
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the tart for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 C) and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and lightly browned. Transfer the tart, still on the baking sheet, to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. The tart is ready to be served when it reaches room temperature.
(The tart is best served the day it is made, but, if necessary, it can be kept in the refrigerator overnight; bring to cool room temperature before serving.)
Fresh Strawberry Tart (Tarte aux Fraises)
1 fully baked 9-inch (24-cm) tart shell made from Sweet Tart Dough
Pastry cream (recipe below)
3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
Shortly before you are ready to serve the tart, spread the pastry cream in the bottom of the baked tart shell and arrange the strawberries over the top. Le voila!
Pastry Cream
Adapted from Paris Sweets, Dorie Greenspan
1 1/4 cups (300 grams) whole milk
1/2 moist, plump vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1. Bring the milk and vanilla bean (pulp and pod) to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover the pan, turn off the heat, and set aside for 10 minutes. Or, if you are using vanilla extract, just bring the mil to a boil and proceed with the recipe, adding the extract before you add the butter to the hot pastry cream.
2. Working in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch together until thick and pale. Whisking all the while, very slowly drizzle a quarter of the hot milk onto the yolks. Then, still whisking, pour the rest of the liquid in a steady stream over the tempered yolks. Remove and discard the vanilla pod.
3. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously and without stop, bring the mixture to the boil. Keep the mixture at the boil, whisking energetically, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and scrape the party cream into a clean bowl. Allow the pastry cream to cool on the counter for about 3 minutes.
4. Cut the into chunks and stir the chunks into the hot pastry cream, continuing to stir until the butter is melted and incorporated. At this point, the cream needs to be thoroughly chilled. You can either set the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and, to ensure even cooling, stir the cream from time to time, or refrigerate the cream, in which case you should press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal.
(The cream can be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or packed airtight and frozen for 1 month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and whip before using to return it to its smooth consistency.)
a yummy tart with just one lemon. i can’t imagine but i will soon try. i’ve voted and my super powers tell me you are going to win. good luck!
Oooo, the whole lemon tart sounds delicious and I love the grapefruit idea! Tarts are always welcome around here.
The whole lemon tart looks and sounds absolutely delightful. I will sure make it!
I got really excited thinking “Oooo a lemon tart with strawberries!”, but I guess not. It’s looks great though, I’ll definitely make it. I use Martha Stewart’s version of a Pate Sucree and it’s always worked out. I hate it when pie/tart doughs don’t.
P.S. I cheated and voted twice. :)
Fabulous tart! And I don’t know how you hid from my camera on Friday night–butcha did!
Guess I will see you this Saturday? Hope so!
Snicker, snicker. I didn’t hide. I just borrowed your camera long enough to take all the unflattering pictures of me off. Sadly, after that there were none left!
You got the lens, didn’t you? :-)
You sneak!
I need to make both of those first chance I get - the idea of a whole lemon made so simply into a tart is making me drool - it sounds like the best, most gorgeous lemon curd imaginable. And fruit and pastry cream? Summertime perfect. I need to hit the farmer’s market.
Everyone send Debbie and Alex out here to see me! I am going through withdrawal. In return, I will a) register to take the class with them even though I am a certified grill mastress by birth and b) pony up many bottles of wine for their visit. I am such a stellar friend.
Lovely!
I like to torch my lemon tarts and sometimes cheesecakes.
I am so excited by the idea of that lemon tart, I do admit it’s a bit unseemly. Yay for whole citrus recipes!
I’ll say it again, deb, I’d love to see you two go to Napa (even though I’m nominated, I know I won’t win); I’m excited to see you’re at the top of the heap. Here’s hoping you stay there. I LOVE tarte au citron, and Mercedes is right, the grapefruit version is divine.
I always have lemons on hand so I’ll give this lemon tart a whirl this evening to see if it’s a good finale to my planned cold greens soup and roasted veggie medley. I’m also seeking to alter my cooking habits to avoid overloading the A/C unit. I’m psyced to see you’re #1 on the Grill Me polls!! You got my vote!
Tams — Super powers! I want some too! Mostly, I just do the elbow-elbow-bow thing and try to will myself home from work midday. Hasn’t worked… yet.
Jelena — I have used MS’s Pate Sucree as well and need to get back to it. So many of the tarts I’ve made in the last year are from Paris Sweets, and they all suggest this same Sweet Tart Dough, which although delicious, is quite sticky and, at least in my case, just not working as well as I’d like. However, I did make cookies with the third dough last night (deciding I wouldn’t use it for a tart after it made two ugly ones) and yum–they’re perfect. Ah, one more thing: because the sweet tart dough I’ve been using has ground almonds in it, a friend who is allergic to nuts couldn’t eat the tart on Friday. That bummed me out, and one more reason to use a more basic one.
radish — Oh, but I did. Yay! However, I have days and days of recipes to catch up on after being on a huge, ick deadline last week so most of the upcoming pics will be old and, in comparison, fugly.
Ang — Yay! Wine, Ang and WP! We actually thought for about 2.5 seconds that if we made it out there, maybe we should go to the French Laundry? And, well, um, no. I can think of ten things I’d rather do with my next $700 and most of them rhyme with Shmaris or Shmeurope.
Vanessa — That’s a great idea! As you can see, this sort of cooked unevenly. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to have cooked it until the center was bubbling, too, but I was a few minutes over the cooking time so I took it out. Next time, I think bruleeing would nicely finish the job.
I love tarts. They are so lovely and lemon curd is the best. Yummy. I must try it with one whole lemon. It intrigues me. I’ve never heard of such a thing. :)
Both of these look wonderful, and since I prudently bought an extra lemon yesterday that surely means that I’ll just HAVE to make the tarte au citron…
I wanted to share my family’s way of avoiding soggy bottoms on pastry cream-filled tarts, inspired by a local bakery: spread a very thin layer of melted dark chocolate over the surface of the cooled crust and let it harden before adding pastry cream, or do a simple egg wash for the last few minutes of the par-bake. These provide a minimal sort of “seal” on the crust that won’t allow it to get as soggy as it otherwise might.
This is especially helpful if your leftover fruit tart tends to become the next morning’s breakfast, as it often does around here.
Who needs the French Laundry when you can get chicken IN A BUCKET at our favorite restaurant in our ‘hood? They even call it a smitten kitchen in this article.
The best thing about being out here, in my mind, is the fried chicken trend. We will take you out for some. Alex will hug me.
Today I got an email telling me I won a copy of Mastering the Grill! All because you told me to vote for you. Thank you!
Yay! I come back from Vegas and I see beautiful strawberries on your site. And, not just strawberries in a crate but they are in a tart. Then you wax poetic over lemon cured, who wouldn’t be in love? Now, I’m off to dream of gorgeous tarts from a removable bottom pan.
That strawberry tart is calling my name! I have some berries and cream to use up before vacation… I may have to give this beautiful tart a try!
Can’t wait to read about your cake :)
This is my first visit to your site - and although I have no wisdom/creative juice to contribute along the lines of tarts, I am captivated. Awesome photography. Incredible content to delve into a learn a thing or two about kitchens, food, restaurants, eating…you name it. Kudos to you. Thanks for the site. I’ll be back…often!
Oooh, I tried my hand at the lemon tart last night. It was super easy - easier for me because it was late and I cut corners with a ready made crust dusted up with some extra sugar. Sssshhhh.
So easy and so yummy! I see this one will be a summertime favorite of mine.
For the next whole-fruit citrus tart I vote for KEY LIME. I can’t remember, though–do you not like Key Lime, Debbie? I love it…like any good southerner…
I LOVE key lime. I made wee key lime tartlets last summer, but this version would be even better. Next party!
Not only do they have the best name, but those tart pans are so darn pretty! I love having them around in the kitchen. These tarts are gorgeous.
I’m making a lemon tart tomorrow for a dinner I’m having … and am already starting to feel very pessimistic about my pastry, even though the recipe is good. I just always end up with ugly edges… the pastry seems to shrink back from the side, and unevenly. What am I doing wrong!???
i’m not sure gorgeous even does this justice. WOWOW!
I adapted the lemon tart for rhubarb, and it was delicious! If you’re curious, you can find the recipe here: http://corkandknife.com/2008/04/it-is-only-fitting-that.html
The first time a smittenkitchen recipe has disappointed :( The lemon curd was way, way too sweet and it didn’t set properly unless i refrigerated it!
This is the best lemon tart I have ever had. I have been bragging all week to everyone I know that I made the best lemon form scratch - using a whole lemon!
I cannot imagine eating a boxed version now.
Yum! I’m (mostly) waiting for my lemon tarts to cool now - I already took a few bites out of one! I made the recipe in some frozen tartlet shells; it filled all ten of them quite full, and probably could have made 11 or 12 without becoming too high on the crust-to-curd ratio. I discovered when I pre-baked the crusts a little that they were kind of puff-pastry-ish rather than tart/pie-pastry-ish (I bought them at a baking shop near my home here in China, so I couldn’t read the label), and they wound up with small pools of grease between crust and foil liner when I pulled the liners off a minute ago, but given the price of butter and my dislike for making pastry myself, it’s worth it :) And if the cooled tarts really hit the spot, I may even try making some pastry myself for the next batch (but not with almond flour, I have no idea where to begin to look for that here!)
Sorry to double-post, but I forgot to add: I made these with a friend, and she had the bright idea to rinse out the blender with drinking water before washing it - it made about a cup of pretty good instant lemonade! :)
So I started out making the strawberry tart for a dinner party (three hours later). I just picked up some kumquats at the farmers market (so cal) and decided that I would chop them up and toss them in with the strawberries. As I was making the crust, my partner’s brother started talking to me and kept distracting me, so when I went to bake the crust, it was pretty much a disaster! Don’t let anyone distract you when you’re trying to make pastry!!!! In the meantime I made the pastry filling which turned out great; I added chopped kumquats to it and chilled it.I prepared all the strawberries and with 45 minutes left I went to make another crust. He did it again!!!! Wouldn’t leave me alone!!! Disaster number two and 20 minutes to go. SO, I whipped a cup of heavy whipping cream then folded it into the pastry filling - it made a beautiful mousse. I served it up in bowls with strawberries and more chopped kumquats. It was awesome!
Would the cornstarch really be necessary if I used full on heavy cream in the pastry cream? Starch icks me out a bit. I’m trying to figure out the perfect birthday cake for my best friend who doesn’t like “rich” desserts, and I’ve narrowed it down to the crepe cake and this. Any other suggestions?
The starch is a thickener. The cream will not work the same. However, if you look around, you may find pastry cream recipes that don’t have starch in them (though I am, admittedly, perplexed by the “ick” part. Starch is natural.)
I admit the “ick” factor is not logical. I’ve happily used starch in other recipes the thicken fruit liquids; just yesterday, in fact, in the blueberry crumb bars. I just think starch makes custard taste chalky. And, I’m lactose-intolerant, so I’d rather use cream than milk. Thanks for the advice, though. I’ll do some searching.