Subscriber OnlyRecipes

Lemon tart

Makes: 1
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Prep Time: 1 hr
Ingredients
  • For the pastry:
  • 220g strong flour
  • 75g icing sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 110g soft salted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • For the filling:
  • 12 medium eggs
  • 400g icing sugar
  • 500ml double cream
  • 220g lemon juice
  • Zest of 3 lemons
  1. To make the pastry, mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a mixer. Add the soft butter and mix to a crumb. Bind with an egg until a dough is formed, then wrap the dough in clingfilm and rest it overnight in the fridge.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Roll the pastry about 1cm thick, cut into a circle, and carefully line a tart case allowing some overhang. Chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  3. Cut a large, rough circle of parchment paper and place in the tart case. Fill the tart case with baking beans and blind-bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Carefully lift out the parchment paper and baking beans and then bake the tart case for a further 10-15 minutes until it is evenly golden brown.
  4. Using a fine grater, gently file back the excess pastry until you reach the edge of the tart ring. The case is now ready for the filling.
  5. To make the filling, add the eggs, sugar and cream in a large bowl and blend until smooth with a hand blender. Add the lemon juice, and zest and blend immediately so the mix doesn’t curdle. When smooth, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest
  6. Preheat the oven to 110 degrees. Remove the filling from the fridge and, using a spoon, skim off and discard any bubbles from the top of the mixture. Then pour the mix through a sieve into a large jug.
  7. Place the tart case on a tray, and place on the middle shelf in the oven. Very carefully and gently pour the filling into the tart case until it reaches just below the top of the pastry.
  8. Bake the tart for 50-60 minutes or until there is a little wobble in the centre of the tart. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature, then place in the fridge for at least an hour.
  9. Remove the tart carefully from the tart case before slicing and serving.
Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty is an award winning chef, TV host, author and Irish Times columnist.