Lemon Tart

It was one lazy day and the Rachel Allen Bake! show was on, and it gave inspiration to making this lemon tart. The general comments from the group she was teaching at the time was that the tart was "fresh", "very citrusy" or "lemony" than "sweet", and I particularly liked the tips on making the pastry. So, a google search later, the recipe was downloaded and the mission was to make a successful first attempt at lemon pie.

Rachel Allen's lemon tart recipe can be found here. This recipe endured minor personal tweaks, of course.

For the Pastry :
200 g sifted plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
100g butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg, beaten

You can either use a food processor to mix all the ingredients together, except use only half of the beaten egg (just enough to bind it together). You can also do it the old fashioned way and rub it between your fingers till you get the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs (a personal preference).

Rachel suggests that you
- flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 2cm thick, then wrap it in cling film or place it in a plastic bag and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10–15 minutes, before using.
- Line a 23cm tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and cover the base with baking parchment. Fill the tin with baking beans and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment for the last five minutes of baking for a golden crust. (they forgot to mention in the online recipe to brush the pastry with the remaining egg wash - which you may want to do so that the filling does not seep out)

For the filling - the original recipe calls for:
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 3 lemons
juice of 1 orange
125g caster sugar
150ml double cream

The eggs, lemon zest and sugar are whisked in a bowl. Add the cream, orange and lemon juice. Mix well, skimming off any froth from the top of the mixture. Carefully pour the filling into the cooked pastry case. I used a little jug with a spout and had the baking tray taken out halfway from the oven and fill it up from there just to reduce chances of spilling. Bake at 160C for 30-35 minutes or until the filling has just set in the centre – Rachel says "it should only wobble very slightly when you take it out of the oven. "

"Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before removing the tart from the tin and transferring to a plate or cake stand. When it is cool, dredge a little icing sugar over the top and cut into slices to serve. "

This version is served with a little dollop of vanilla ice cream.