I never thought I liked lemon desserts. Then one summer, while visiting friends in the little French village of Hyères, I experienced the most sublime marriage of lemon and butter, in the form of a humble lemon tart. It came from a pastry shop called Le Pâtisserie des Artisans, and I was too shy to ask them for the recipe. So I vowed to myself that I would research every lemon tart recipe I could get my hands on until I found one that came close. Finally, I found this version in an old cookbook called (roughly translated) Secrets of the Best Restaurants of France. It is different from any other I’ve tried, and captures the sunny flavors I can still taste in my memory. I’ve since returned to Hyères and tried to find that pastry shop (I remember it was near the outdoor market), but I think it closed. Too bad—I would have liked to tell them about my epiphany.
This recipe is a little trickier than most lemon tarts that use a precooked curd, but to me the taste is brighter and fresher and the texture smoother than most.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 8 servings
Ingredients
Sweet Tart Crust
Lemon Filling
Preparation
Sweet Tart Crust
Step 1
Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and work it in with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly and well mixed. Mix the egg and vanilla together with a fork and stir into the flour mixture. Gather the dough into a ball and knead just a little. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch tart pan.
Step 3
Roll out the dough on lightly floured parchment paper to about 1/8 inch thick. Chill again for about 5 minutes. Press the dough into the pan, taking care to tuck the corners in. Fold the excess dough back onto itself to form a lip all the way around, just slightly higher than the rim of the tart pan. (This is important, as the filling is very liquidy, and you want to fill the tart all the way to the rim of the pan. The higher edge will keep the filling from spilling out.) Keep a tiny ball of excess dough to repair any cracks in the baked shell. Line the shell with a piece of foil or parchment and fill with dry beans, making sure to press them up against the sides. Bake for 10–15 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and beans, check for cracks, and use your extra dough as “spackle” to fill them in. Bake an additional 5–10 minutes, until cooked through and light golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.
Lemon Filling
Step 4
Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.
Step 5
Beat the eggs lightly and whisk in the sugar until well blended. Add the melted butter, then juice and zest. Whisk just until blended. Place the pie shell in the oven and pour in the filling. Bake for 30 minutes, until the filling is just set in the center. Cool and serve, garnished with fresh berries.
