My friend Charles of Five Euro Food posted a lovely recipe for lemon curd and it got me thinking about lemons. Once I get lemons on my mind, I usually have to do something about it. Our good friends Paul and T were visiting for the weekend and I knew I had to make a lemony dessert for one of the nights we were eating in. Plus it was Earth Day and we would be dining by candle light during Lights Out (so exciting) so I wanted a dessert that would be easy and not too heavy as I was making Paella for dinner! Thanks Charles for the lovely lemony inspiration.
Classic Shaker Lemon Tarts
A dollop of whipping cream would have made this dessert so tasty.
Makes four small 3 inch tarts (a Martha Stewart Recipe)
Ingredients:
- 1 large lemon, sliced very thinly
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- Viennese Pastry (see below)
Directions:
- Cut lemons crosswise into paper-thin rounds using a mandoline or a very sharp knife; discard ends and seeds.
- Place lemon slices in a medium nonreactive bowl, and add sugar; toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature overnight.
- Divide the dough into four equal balls. With the heel of your hand, flatten out the balls into a small disk. Place in the centre of each spring form tart pan and press out to the edges with your fingers. Roll the top to get a nice scalloped edge.
- Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450°F, with rack in lower third. Add lightly beaten eggs to lemon mixture, and stir to combine.
- Pour through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Divide liquid among tart shells, then top with the lemon slices, arranging decoratively.
- Bake tarts on baking sheet 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F, bake until filling is set and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove tarts from pans, and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
- Serve with a dollop of whipping cream.
Viennese Pastry
Originally from the Five Roses Flour Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 small egg yolk at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
Directions:
- In a food processor, add all of the ingredients except the egg yolk and vanilla, process until the butter is incorporated and it resembles corn meal. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and process until it becomes a ball. If it is very soft, you may want to refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Follow directions above.
So tell me, did you honour Lights Out for Earth Hour? We had our dinner party by candle light and cooked everything on gas or the BBQ by candle light. It was a chilly night so we even had a wood fire in the fire place.
Kitcheninspirations 