Before I had even written up our French Gite trip, I knew exactly what recipe I would include alongside the post – my absolute French favourite (well one of them) – Tarte au Citron…. It’s not like I can just pop along to M&S or Waitrose and buy one is it? So I have come to the conclusion that I might as well make my own! And actually having now done exactly that, I am not sure I would buy it again anyway, it’s much much easier than you think!
Unless you have unwaxed lemons or big fat Amalfi beauties to hand (which would make it more of a torta wouldn’t it?) don’t forget to scrub them of wax before you zest them. And don’t worry if you run out of caster sugar either (as I did), light brown sugar works equally well, and gives it more of a rustic feel…
Feeling generous (well actually that’s not strictly true – feeling sensible, as I have a couple of Oktoberfest visits coming up, and believe me sitting comfortably in a dirndl is not that easy if you’ve eaten too much of something like this), I gave Mr R the other half of the tarte to take to work. I like to imagine his workmates as a kind of “Eurovision” taste testing panel (and it’s also part of my master plan in convincing our European friends that we Brits can cook just as well as they can!). Let’s just say that this might have been my Waterloo moment (ABBA not Napoleon). Not a “nil point” in sight!…
A big fat Gallic hug on a spoon (except the two below are Scandinavian obviously!)…
Tarte au Citron
(Serves 10-12)350g plain flour;
225g unsalted cold cubed butter;
pinch of salt;
100g icing sugar;
3 organic egg yolks.
Filling:
4 lemons, juiced, and zested!;
5 organic eggs;
125ml double cream;
235g caster sugar;
In a food processor, blitz the flour, butter and salt until it begins to look like breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and egg yolks, continue to process until a dough forms. Wrap in clingfilm, and put in the fridge for up to an hour (this makes quite a lot of pastry, so if you don’t use it all, freeze it or give the kids the pastry cutters and a jar of jam for further adventures in tart making!)
Preheat oven to 180DegC. Line the bottom of a dish/tin with baking paper and on a floured surface roll out the dough. Don’t panic if it breaks up a bit when you place it in the dish/tin, just squish it back together. Neaten the edges a bit and bake blind for 25 minutes (or until light brown)… Leave to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 170DegC. In a jug, beat the eggs. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and set aside. Pour the filling into the pastry case (much easier if it’s on the oven shelf I find!) and bake for 30 minutes. If after this the mixture still looks too liquid, give it an extra five minutes.
Admire for at least half an hour until cool enough to sample. Do Ignore the sizing of the kitchen implement in the picture above. It is not adequate.
Amanda @gidders1 says
Yummy! They look like moomins on the spoon ;)
bavaria says
They are. We seem to own quite a few in this house! :D
Funky Wellies says
I HAVE to try that recipe… xx
bavaria says
Let me know if you like it! Hope so! :) xx
Downs Side Up says
Oh me oh my that looks like the real deal alright. My kids love my homemade lemon icecream but I’ll have to be adventuous and try this!
H
bavaria says
I love the sound of the icecream!! Thank you! :)
Louisa @ My Family & Abruzzo says
Gosh that looks good! I adore tarte au citron! Nice blog too. First time I’ve visited.
bavaria says
Thanks Louisa, and thanks for visiting! :)
Sarah@The View From the Table says
Oh hello! This tart looks fabulous. Love the Eurovision taste panel :)
bavaria says
Thank you! :D x
helloitsgemma says
OK, i admit I didn’t read the recipe, I don’t want the effort – I want the TARTE!!!!
bavaria says
But honestly, the faffiest bit of this is waiting for the pastry. It’s not at all hard! :D x
Emily @amummytoo says
Beautiful – I really want it! Pinned and Stumbled. I’m really pleased to be showcasing this as part of this week’s #recipeoftheweek. Hope you join in again :)
bavaria says
Thanks Emily! Of course I will be back! :)
Emma @emvanstone says
Wow, Emma, that looks amazing. I’m not generally a tart fan, but that looks deliciously lemony. x
bavaria says
Aw thanks Emma…. Bet this can change any tarte haters mind! :D xx
Jazzygal says
That looks and sounds delicious….and I really want to try it! It would be harder work, but not impossible without a food processor, right?
I love lemony pastries and I made lemon drizzle cupcakes recently. I’m not a great cook but they were tasty nonetheless and all were gobbled up!
xx Jazzy
bavaria says
Completely possible without a food processor, it just takes a few minutes longer tis all! Good luck, love the sound of the cupcakes! :) xx
older mum in a muddle says
O.M.G Tart au citron is my favourite ever, ever in the whole wide world…. my taste buds are going nuts – great photographs. X
bavaria says
Thank you! It was lucky it lasted until it was photographed to be honest, it was devoured pretty quickly! :D X
Alison says
Oh this looks lovely, I have never tried to make this so will have to have a go
bavaria says
Fantastic! Let me know how you get on! :)
Sara (@mumturnedmom) says
Mouthwatering, I absolutely love Tarte au Citron… Not something I’ve seen yet over here?! Not quite sure my baking skills are up to making one though… :)
bavaria says
Thanks Sara… If I can make it, you can too! :D
Helen The good life mum says
Oh heaven that is one of my favorite tarts i think chocolate tart is a close competitor
i love the light use on these photos my kitchen is soooooo dark i think i need a torch to take the pictures
bavaria says
Thanks Helen… Get a lightbox, they don’t cost too much! So useful for food photography! :) x
Rachel says
My absolute favorite thing to eat in the entire world – enjoy! Note to self: must stop being lazy and learn how to make it myself :)
bavaria says
Well at the moment, I would be tempted to just hand someone else the recipe and say make me this please… I think you deserve it! :D
Mari says
Wow! Looks yummy, I still have to get round to cooking Normandy treats, you’ve inspired me to get my spatula out this weekend x
bavaria says
I look forward to the Normandy posts Mari! Thank you! :) x
A Patchwork Life says
Gorgeous! Wonderful photo. The only time I ever made one, the lemon filling didn’t set properly and my tarte looked a right mess! I really should give it another go.
Sweet spoon :)
bavaria says
Thank you! What a shame… So annoying when that happens, I had that happen with a blueberry tart last year. Still ate it though! :D
Sally Sellwood (@Recipejunkie27) says
Oh this is probably my absolute favourite dessert ever, and I love your photos, it looks absolutely incredible. I can smell the lemon, and I’m starting to salivate….
bavaria says
Thanks Sally! The house did smell amazing while this was baking! :D
Grace says
Mmmmmm taste buds working overtime when reading this! The photographs make it all look so delicious. Hope you made some of your delicious Scandinavian meringues with the spare egg whites?? xx
bavaria says
Nope. I have had a busy week… :D Thanks Mum xxx
Midlife Singlemum says
Delicious. You are clever.
bavaria says
Thank you! You are too kind! :)
Leslie says
Looks Devine!
bavaria says
Thanks Leslie! :)