(adapted from Bon Appetit and Gourmet)
Who doesn’t love the tongue-tingling tang of a zesty lemon dessert on a sticky summer day? I’ve been having an affair with lemon for several months now, and I’m on a quest to perfect the balance of buttery crust, creamy filling, and bright flavor. Please experiment with accompaniments like berry compote, whipped cream, mint leaves, or coulis, and report back – it’s a lemon emergency!
INGREDIENTS:CRUST
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1 t finely grated lemon peel
1/2 t salt
½ c (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 large egg yolks
FILLING
½ c sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 T (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
2 T dry white wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)
¾ c heavy whipping cream
TOPPING
¼ c turbinado sugar
DIRECTIONS:
FOR CRUST: Spray 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom with butter-flavor cooking spray. Blend flour, sugar, lemon peel, and salt in processor. Add butter; blend until coarse meal forms. Add yolks; blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball. Press onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Freeze crust until firm, about 15 minutes. (Crust can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with foil; keep frozen.)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake crust 5 minutes. Press up sides with back of spoon if falling. Continue to bake until golden, about 18 minutes more. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.
FOR FILLING: Whisk sugar, eggs, yolks, and lemon peel in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in lemon juice and wine. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until custard thickens and just begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Cool to just warm, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Gradually whisk in cream. Pour filling into crust. Place pan on foil-lined cookie sheet; bake until filling is set in center and begins to puff at edges, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
FOR TOPPING: Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over surface of chilled tart. Holding propane torch 6 inches above surface of tart, caramelize sugar until crunchy crust forms. No torch? Try a minute under the broiler, or just decorate with fruit!
Serves 8 (or 4, if you’re like Miriam)
selected by Miriam
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this delicious and fresh treat. I only made a few changes. I replaced the cream with fat free half and half, which seemed to be OK. I was afraid it would affect the firming factor as I watched it bake, but it worked out just fine. And even though I didn’t have a propane torch, I still sprinkled the turbinado on top and tried to broil it to get the brulee affect. As you can see in my photos, that did not really work. But the sugar gave it a finished look and we actually enjoyed the crunch. I particularly enjoyed the crust recipe. So easy to make and had a nice flavor. I will definitely reuse that with other fillings.
I also really liked this recipe. My favorite part of it was the light but delicious lemon flavor in the crust and and brulee.
My crust was a bit too crumbly - I couldn't cut a piece without everything becoming a bit messy. Maybe I overcooked it just slightly.
And one very minor issue is the consistency of the brulee - mine seemed just slightly curdy though nobody seemed to notice. How do you get the brulee filling to be really smooth?
Did anyone have an issue with the non-stick spray coming out the bottom of the tart pan to cause a major toxic, smoky mess in their house? :-) Just curious.
Overall, a great recipe that looked MUCH harder to bake than it really was. I would definitely remake it another time.
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