I, too, went down the baked lemon tart rabbit hole a few years ago. Happy days!
Interestingly, Heston made a <a href=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/mar/01/foodanddrink.shopping1>much sharper version</a> in the early days of The Fat Duck, using less sugar, egg, and cream, and twice as much juice as his later one. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what I thought of it at the time. In the end I seem to have settled on the version by Roger Pizey (ex Marco/Gavroche) which also has more lemon and less sugar than the Roux. (If you’re curious he goes with: 25% lemon juice, 18% double cream, 25% sugar, 32% egg.)
But I really must revisit that original Heston version at some point to see why I stepped over it. A couple of things that I did carry forward are to use whipping cream rather than double, and to warm the mix in a bain marie. Pouring a warm mix into a warm shell mitigates the problem of the filling separating into two layers when making a deep tart (3.5 cm).
I’ve only just found your feed so I’m looking forward to browsing the archive. Thanks.
I clicked on this email SO fast the second it popped up in my inbox. I'm a hugeeee fan of anything with lemon (outside of chocolate of course!), and lemon tarts have been my favorite pastry to make. My mom and I usually end up fighting over who gets the last bit of any lemon dessert (cakes, bars, tarts, etc), so I know she'll absolutely love this recipe too once I give it a go! Perfect for Mother's Day coming up 💛
Hi Nicola! Can't wait to make these! I am living in Germany and we do not have any cream that has a higher fat content that 30-35% (horrible I know!). Will this effect the overall result for the curd? Thanks
Finally made this and it’s fantastic! For those (like me) wondering about quantities and tart pan/tin sizes — pistachio pastry makes two 7in/18cm tarts (240g pastry each) and custard is enough for one 7in/18cm tart.
Nicola, at what temp should we bake the tarts, 110c fan or 160c fan? I couldn't tell if the 110 was just for warming up the cases, or baking with custard as well? Thanks!
Just made this (with almonds instead of pistachios), using homemade creme fraiche prepared with 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 tbsp of greek yogurt allowed to rest at room temp for 24 hours. It was super delicious and is the first shortcrust I have EVER prepared that didn't need to be lined or docked and didn't shrink. I love tarts but have never had a tart shell not shrink on me. I'm going to be using this pastry for everything now!
Hi! I used larger tins (110gr dough) and warmed up the custard. BUT, no wooble, 20 mins is definetly too much for this size with warm Pastry and custard...and in the surface there is a slighly thin kind of foam? I dont know why...
Just popped mine in the oven! Sadly the pastry stuck to my tins so I'm a few shells down, how long do you think the leftover custard will keep unbaked?
I, too, went down the baked lemon tart rabbit hole a few years ago. Happy days!
Interestingly, Heston made a <a href=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/mar/01/foodanddrink.shopping1>much sharper version</a> in the early days of The Fat Duck, using less sugar, egg, and cream, and twice as much juice as his later one. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what I thought of it at the time. In the end I seem to have settled on the version by Roger Pizey (ex Marco/Gavroche) which also has more lemon and less sugar than the Roux. (If you’re curious he goes with: 25% lemon juice, 18% double cream, 25% sugar, 32% egg.)
But I really must revisit that original Heston version at some point to see why I stepped over it. A couple of things that I did carry forward are to use whipping cream rather than double, and to warm the mix in a bain marie. Pouring a warm mix into a warm shell mitigates the problem of the filling separating into two layers when making a deep tart (3.5 cm).
I’ve only just found your feed so I’m looking forward to browsing the archive. Thanks.
Can’t wait to make these! For the pastry after combining the nuts with the sugar, do you just add everything else in?
Those quenelles are so dreamy!
I clicked on this email SO fast the second it popped up in my inbox. I'm a hugeeee fan of anything with lemon (outside of chocolate of course!), and lemon tarts have been my favorite pastry to make. My mom and I usually end up fighting over who gets the last bit of any lemon dessert (cakes, bars, tarts, etc), so I know she'll absolutely love this recipe too once I give it a go! Perfect for Mother's Day coming up 💛
Hi Nicola! Can't wait to make these! I am living in Germany and we do not have any cream that has a higher fat content that 30-35% (horrible I know!). Will this effect the overall result for the curd? Thanks
Cant wait to make these, Nicola!
Would you use icing sugar instead of caster sugar if you had ground pistachio to begin with?
If we sign up to KP+ now do we get access to the previous weeks' recipes?
Thanks!
These look gorgeous! Definitely making, I love lemon desserts.
Interested in trying them!
Classic lemon tarts with a custard filling contain like 15 eggs and even though they're delicious, they leave an eggy taste in your mouth
Finally made this and it’s fantastic! For those (like me) wondering about quantities and tart pan/tin sizes — pistachio pastry makes two 7in/18cm tarts (240g pastry each) and custard is enough for one 7in/18cm tart.
Nicola, at what temp should we bake the tarts, 110c fan or 160c fan? I couldn't tell if the 110 was just for warming up the cases, or baking with custard as well? Thanks!
Would this work for a key lime tart? If I were to substitute the lemon with lime?
Just made this (with almonds instead of pistachios), using homemade creme fraiche prepared with 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 tbsp of greek yogurt allowed to rest at room temp for 24 hours. It was super delicious and is the first shortcrust I have EVER prepared that didn't need to be lined or docked and didn't shrink. I love tarts but have never had a tart shell not shrink on me. I'm going to be using this pastry for everything now!
Thank you for this ! And for the whole newsletter, it's always a pleasure to read you!
Quick question on this : would it work with grapefruit ? I want to give it a try, do you know if similar quantities would work as well ?
Very late to the lemon tart party but made this today and it was exceptional! Such a silky smooth lemon custard 😍😍😍
Hi! I used larger tins (110gr dough) and warmed up the custard. BUT, no wooble, 20 mins is definetly too much for this size with warm Pastry and custard...and in the surface there is a slighly thin kind of foam? I dont know why...
Just popped mine in the oven! Sadly the pastry stuck to my tins so I'm a few shells down, how long do you think the leftover custard will keep unbaked?