TWD- Tartest Lemon Tart

Yes, you read that right. I am back on again with the chics of Tuesdays with Dorie. I had started back in the day with Laurie and Michelle, and then it kept on growing, and growing to what it is now. Last Summer, life just happened, and there wasn't enough time to keep up with baking once a week, so I had to step out for a while. Now, I am back on and so excited to get back to baking. Not sure that my thighs are thanking me for this, though!

This week's recipe was chosen by Babette Feasts. I am really excited about it, because it is lemon. I had never made a tart like this though, you used the whole lemon. Just scrub and dry the lemon, cut it in half and remove the seeds and throw it into a blender or food processor. Then you add the rest of the ingredients. A one bowl recipe, gotta love it!

There was some talk about this tart being very tart and bitter, which brought up the question about using the pith of the lemon. Some people used it and others didn't. I chose to use it to see how it would turn out. My tart was not bitter at all, but was very tart. Now, if I am going to make a lemon dessert, I want it to be tart, so this tart made me happy! I also didn't make the nut crust, well, because, I didn't have any and I didn't want to go back to the store. But, I can see where this crust would be a fantastic base for this tart.

You can find the recipe of this tart on page 336 in BFMHTY, or you should be able to find it over at Babette's.

Next week, Fresh Mango Bread. I love mangoes, but really can't imagine it in bread. We'll see how it turns out.

Peach Cream Tart

I have made this tart several times before, and had forgot about it really, I made it over a year ago, only I used apples and loved it just as much. It is kind of like a cobbler in tart form. You have the crunch from the crust, a bite of fruit and the creamy, soft filling. And, don't worry about having fresh fruit, I used canned peaches and worked out fine!

Peach Cream Tart
Crust:
1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup (1 stick)butter, softened
2 Tbsp sour cream

Filling:
About 3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced thickly--or just a can of peaches
3 large egg yolks
3/4 Cup sour cream
3/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1/2 Cup peach jelly, warmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place the flour, butter and sour cream in food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2 inch sides. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

To make filling, arrange the peach slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as the peaches will draw up during baking. Combine the yolks, sour cream, sugar and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the peaches.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark.

Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan. Spread the peach jelly with a pastry brush over the top of the tart.

TWD-The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Tart!

Try saying that title 3 times fast! :) This weeks recipe was chosen by Mary from Starting from Scratch. We had the choice of either lemon, or orange cream. My friend Chelle, who is anti-lemon, chose the orange version, and she compared it to a creamsicle. I am going to try that version too. I have to say that I absolutely LOVED this choice! This has become my "go to" lemon tart recipe. Easy to throw it together, and was probably devoured in less than the time it took to make it. The only problem that I ran into was cooking the lemon curd to 180 degrees. I never got to that temp, I could only get to 165-170, but, the lemon cream came out perfect. Not runny at all!! Very firm, and creamy, and lemony!

Our chick list over at TWD continues to grow, go and check them out!

If you are looking for a great lemon dessert, this would be the one to make!

Next week has been chosen by Judy at Judy's Gross Eats....Marshmallows!! This will be the time that I play with flavors!

Tart

1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 3 lemons

4 large eggs

¾ c fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)

2 sticks plus 5 T butter (10 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temperature.

1 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough (see below).

Getting ready:

Have a instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (1st choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture fees tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk- you whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling- you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point- the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience- depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp may take as long as 10 minutes.

(I never got to this temp, and it took 30-45 minutes to get to the temp 165-170, but turned out perfect!)

As soon as it reaches 180F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the lender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going- to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests, and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. (the cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

Sweet Tart Dough

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ tsp salt1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 T) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in- you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal fakes and others the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses- about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate and dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To press the dough into the pan: butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy handed- press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferable longer, before baking.

To partially or fully bake the crust: center a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, against the crust. (since you froze it, you can bake it without weights). Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, carefully press it down with the back of a spoon. For partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack. To fully bake the crust, bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

Apple Cream Tart

A little brown on the top, but don't let that scare you...it is really yummy! This tart is originally made with peaches, but when you have tart granny smith apples and it feels like fall, I think that apple will go well in anything. This doesn't take long at all to put together and you have the tartness of the apples with the sweetness of the filling...almost like an apple cobbler, only in tart form.

Crust:

1 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 Cup (1 stick)butter, softened

2 Tbsp sour cream

Filling:

About 3 medium apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced

3 large egg yolks

3/4 Cup sour cream

3/4 Cup sugar

1/4 Cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:

1/2 Cup apple jelly, warmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place the flour, butter and sour cream in food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2 inch sides. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

To make filling, arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it;s completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will draw up during baking. Combine the yolks, sour cream, sugar and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. (I forgot this part!ha!)

Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan. Spread the apple jelly with a pastry brush over the top of the tart.