off the eaten path

For my inaugural posting here on off the eaten path, I thought I’d take a stab at this month’s Sugar High Friday. Redbeard from life in flow had chosen the theme of tarts for June. I have never cooked a tart. I usually don’t even make pies. But I’m game for an adventure, so I went out and bought myself a tart pan.

Then I hit the hard part of the process: what to cook. I thought I’d delve into some of the cookbooks I’ve bought over the years but never baked from. After consulting several, I decided on the recipe for Lemon Chiffon Tart from Marie Simmons’ the good egg.

I am pleasantly pleased to report it was not nearly as hard or as scary as I thought it would be. It wasn’t even as time consuming as expected.

And the best part is that it’s tasty. And very, very lemony.

The crust is delightful. Rudi compares it to a graham cracker crust, because it’s flaky and crunchy. According to Simmons, the dough for this tart crust is known as pâte sucreé in France and is used to make homemade butter cookies as well as tart shells. And I could see why. This may be the only pie crust I’ve ever had that I would consider eating on its own. (Sorry, Gramma!)

The filling is light and fluffy. It tastes a lot like a lemon merengue pie, which, essentially, it is. Rudi describes it as tart and creamy.

This is definitely not a healthy dessert, but I would argue it’s excellent for the soul. And especially good with a cup of tea late at night.

The shopping list:

• 6 eggs
• 2 pinches kosher salt
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

First, the tart crust (Favorite Egg Yolk Pastry):

The ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To make:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and process to blend.
2. Add the butter bit by bit, pulsing until the mixture forms fine crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and vanilla together. With the motor running, drizzle the yolk mixture through the feed tube of the food processor just until the pastry forms a ball.
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, with floured hands, lightly gather it together. Flatten into a disk with the palm of your hand and place in a 9″ tart pan with a removable bottom. With floured fingertips, spread and pat the pastry over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate between 1 and 24 hours.
5. To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut a round of parchmen paper or waxed paper large enough to line the pastry crust and fit it into the pan. Add about 1 cup of dried beans or rice (I used a mixture of vermicelli and small pasta) to weight the paper down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans/rice. Reduce to oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking until the bottom is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely, then fill as desired.

Notes: I misread the directions and used an extra half cup of flour. Then I realized that my one-piece tart pan, which was made in France, is 30 centimeters in diameter. I don’t know how many inches that translates to, but it’s more like 12 than 9. But the dough stretched (possibly due to that extra flour) so I kept my fingers crossed.

Lemon Curd

The ingredients:

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into bits

To make:

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until thickened. Do not boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low. Add the butter one piece at a time, stirring, until the butter is melted and the curd is very thick.
3. If you are not adding this to your tart right away, you can pour the curd into a small bowl and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 week.

(Makes about 1 cup)

Notes: I microwaved my lemons and then roll them around before I squeezed them. It seems to make them give up a lot of juice, as it took only 1 1/2 lemons to give me 2/3 cup of lemon juice. I used it all (and just stirred longer) since I had a larger tart pan to cover than I would have if I believed in following directions. It tasted good, so I figure it was okay. (Plus, if you’re going to break some of the rules, you might as well feel free to break any of them.)

Lemon Chiffon Tart

The ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon curd
• 1 9″ favorite egg yolk pastry shell, baked and cooled

To make:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
3. Beat in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, until the whites are stiff and smooth, not grainy.
4. Add the lemon curd and gently fold to combine.
5. Spread the lemon filling in the baked shell, mounding it in the center.
6. Bake until the filling is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature.

Notes: For me, it took closer to 20 minutes to get to the lightly browned section.

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