Sunday, August 21, 2011

French Lemon Tart and Pâte Sablée



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely tart will raise an eyebrow or two. It combines a copious amount of lemon juice with a scant measure of sugar to produce a puckery custard that contains no butter or lemon zest. The finished tart is ambrosia for those who love lemon desserts and it is a boon for busy cooks. The tart filling contains just four ingredients, and the recommended pastry shell, a pâte sablée, can be made in a food processor and patted into place. If you are pressed for time, a ready-to-roll commercial pie crust can also be used. Please don't ask how I know that. This is a wonderful company or family dessert. It is not too sweet and it has glorious color. The recipe comes from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. The tart lacks the height and sweetness of a standard lemon pie, but its wonderful flavor and spare simplicity will please the palate of any Francophile. You might want to serve this with macerated berries or a dollop of whipped cream. Here's the recipe.

French Lemon Tart - Tarte au Citron Madame Cartet...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Patricia Wells, Bistro Cooking

Ingredients:
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream
5 large eggs
1 pâte sablée shell (see below), pre-baked and cooled

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) Combine lemon juice, sugar and creme fraiche in a large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add egg, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3) Pour lemon cream into prepared shell. Bake until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature . Yield: 8 servings.

Pâte Sablée...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Patricia Wells Bistro Cooking

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour (do not use unbleached)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
1) Place flour, butter,salt and sugar in bowl of a food processor. Process just until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add egg and pulse just until pastry begins to hold together, about 20 times. Transfer the pastry to waxed paper. Flatten dough into a disk.
2) Dust fingers with flour, then, working very quickly with just your finger tips, press dough into a 10-1/2-inch loose bottomed black tin tart pan. I used a 9-inch tart pan. Press dough up sides of shell and crimp evenly. Cover carefully with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
3) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4) Prick bottom of shell with tines of fork. Line shell loosely with heavy-duty foil, pressing well into edges so pastry will not shrink while baking. Fill with baking wights or dried beans to prevent shrinkage. Bake just until pastry begins to brown around edges and seems firm enough to stand up by itself, about 20 minutes.
5) For a partially baked shell: Remove weights and foil and continue baking until lightly browned all over, about 10 minutes more. For a fully baked shell: Remove weights and foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Cool for at least 10 minutes before filling. Yield: 1 pastry shell.







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You might also enjoy these recipes:
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Strawberry Lemon Tarts and More - Pantry Eats
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LemonTart (from Joy of Baking) - Life of a Foodie and Her Family
Lemon Curd Tartlets with White Chocolate - Sweet Sensations

62 comments :

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Look at that color - the tart jumps out of my screen. Wonderful.

Katarina said...

Lemon tart is so delicious and fresh!

Anonymous said...

When my friend Di bell died ,god bless her soul I miss her so much.I do not think anyone ever can make lemon tart as was hers.She was famous for it.I have tried many recepies(her s was a secret) but couldn.t look or taste even close.Is thsi it>it does look a lot like it;) Will of course try;) Thanks:)

spontaneous-euphoria said...

looks so refreshing!

Angie's Recipes said...

A lovely lemon pie..I would go for some fresh berries.

Karen S Booth said...

I adore tarte au citron and especially when made with Pâte Sablée ~ a beautiful looking tart!
Karen

Baking Addict said...

This looks delicious! I love lemon tart especially lemony ones that are not too sweet.

Karen said...

Fresh and perfect! I love lemon desserts that really let the lemons shine rather than copious amounts of sugar.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Patricia Wells does it again!

Ciao Chow Linda said...

I love that it's not too sweet - beautiful spoon too.

Sue/the view from great island said...

You've utterly charmed me with this one. I love lemon, and the amount of lemon juice sounds fantastic. I just bought a bag of meyer lemons, now I know what to do with them. I also love pat in crusts, so this is a must try for me.

Clint said...

Looks mahhvellous but for us guys there's not enough to eat :)

Susan Lindquist said...

This looks just lovely, Mary! I want to try the pâte sablée with a chocolate cheese tart recipe that I'll be making ... I think it will work well!

Thanks to you and Patricia Wells!

Tracy's Living Cookbook said...

Not only do I love that tart, I love that darling little fork!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Delicious and so easy. Syunning photography!

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

what a perfect slice of lemon heaven!

sally said...

It certainly looks like ambrosia to me! I love lemon desserts!

Maris (In Good Taste) said...

It looks so pretty! Very refreshing and light

June said...

Gorgeous tart. Perfect in its simplicity. I can't wait to make this.

Tanna said...

I do love the lemon desserts, Mary. I have to ask, why do you need to use unbleached flour? Showing my ignorance here. Sounds delicious and looks amazing! blessings ~ tanna

Monet said...

I like tarts that are especially tangy so I imagine that the lemon juice to sugar ratio would make me one happy girl! Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe, my sweet friend. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. I'm smiling and my stomach is growling now :-)

Kim said...

I would definitly save some place in my stomac for a portion of this tart. Love french lemon tart!

daphne said...

It certainly raised my eye brows! I love the presentation and the bright yellow of the tart! mmm.. yum!

Jeannie said...

Your lemon tart looks bright and sunny:D I am sure it's as delicious as you've described it..I like the fact that it is not too sweet.

Cassy said...

Very enticing!

Cassy from Acoustic Guitar Lessons

Elisabeth said...

Hi Mary-Haven't stopped by to visit your blog lately...and I myself have been "out of commission" for several days not being able to comment.

I adore your truly chic gourmet lemon tart,the recipe is fabulous, and the tart is truly magnificent.
Thanks for sharing...have a wonderful Sunday!
Bookmarking this!

Anonymous said...

I looove lemon tarts! I eat too few of them thou...

lena said...

love how easy to whip up that filling! thanks for sharing another great recipe! have a good week ahead!

Joanne said...

Two gorgeous Patricia wells tarts in one weekend! How lucky can we get?

Y said...

I grew up with lemon trees all around me & love everything lemony! Thank you for the lovely recipe.

Unknown said...

Mary, The pictures really made me raise my eyebrows in delight :) Love the wonderful color of it as well :) And thank you for the wonderful comments on my blog - always a pleasure to see you there :)

Cheers, priya

SweetSavoryPlanet said...

Love her books. And lemon tarts!

A Bitchin' Kitchen said...

Mmmm, this looks amazing! I love lemon desserts, and I prefer them on the tart side, so this sounds perfect!

- Maggie

Ginny Hartzler said...

I've never seen anything quite like this, it does look really good!

Chiara said...

Looks so delicous and fresh, I love this lemon tart Mary ! have a good week....

Lucie said...

I love discovering new takes on lemon tart--every lemon cream recipe has its specificity! This looks delicious, Mary!

RATOLINHA said...

Uma tarte maravilhosa, com uma belissíma foto a acompanhar.
Um beijo enorme

Rita said...

Beautiful Elegant and the perfect dessert, can almost taste teh tartness.
Rita

Gopika Ram said...

Wow.. love your lemon tart. Amazing freshness I see in it :D Yumm :)

Anonymous said...

How pretty and bright! I think yellow food looks so appetizing!

Lauren Hairston said...

Sounds amazing! I love that the filling doesn't even require a double boiler! Sounds so simple.

Kelly said...

I love lemon and tarts are such a nice, light way to fashion them. Beautiful.

Unknown said...

Excellent that there are so few ingredients. Looks so light and lemony.

Jamie @ the unseasoned wok said...

This is such a cheerful looking dessert! I love how it pops on the white background and makes my lips pucker just by looking at it! The fact that it has only 4 ingredients makes it a must-do for dessert this week. Thanks!!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

What a beautiful yellow results. I realized that I like the citrus fruits in the summer, and in the winter go for other flavors. I think it is that citrus is always refreshing.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

There's nothing I love better than a lemon tart that is not shy :) I will try this one of my lemon-loving friends!

Thanks so much for the mention in the post below :)

polwig said...

I love lemon tart but this one seems even more amazing because of its simplicity. I am so happy you are tackling Patricia Wells, since I am learning so much about her.

Spoon and Chopsticks said...

That's a perfect slice!

http://spoon-and-chopsticks.blogspot.com/

Elin said...

Mary...that is a great french lemon tart and I so want a slice after reading this. Have KIV this and to tell you the true...my to do list is so loooong....:) Have a nice day,
Elin

Kerstin said...

So pretty - it's the perfect summer dessert!

Elaine said...

Your photo just makes me want a slice of that tart right now. It just makes my mouth water.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Patricia Wells always has such elegant recipes. This tart looks so lemony and wonderful--a thing of beauty. ;-)

Unknown said...

I recognize that fork - Sur la Table? =)

dawn said...

this looks lovely! perfect for a bridal shower i have coming up. thanks for the recipe!

My Little Space said...

Ooo...you've just tempted me to make some of this. It looks so tasty delicious.
Kristy

The Orange Bee said...

Lemon is my all time favorite - I made Lemon Curd for the first time this week. I'm eating it with a spoon straight out of the jar. I tagged you in the 7 Links game.

A Sunflower Life said...

I see another lemon dessert in my near future! It looks wonderful! And I like how easy the crust is to make. That recipe is a keeper!

Sue said...

So lemony and fresh~it's making me pucker:)

Karen (Back Road Journal) said...

Mary, That sounds like the perfect tart for me. First I love lemon recipes and I especially like desserts that are tart and tangy. I can't wait to try this tart.

That Girl said...

This looks perfect for company!

Buttercream Blondie said...

Mary I'm so glad you found my blog & thank you for your kind words! This tart looks wonderful & so elegant!
Meghan

plasterers bristol said...

My favorite of all time. So delicious. Awesome recipe.

Simon

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