Take 1
A few weeks ago I felt like something indulgent but didn't want anything too sweet so opted for a classic tarte au citron. I followed a recipe by Raymond Blanc and found his take on the tart fairly easy to make and delicious, except for the pastry. I'm still not sure if the recipe is right but it said the mixture should be a crumbly texture after mixing the butter, icing sugar, eggs and flour together. I found it to be very wet, nowhere near crumb-like, so I added a bit of extra flour and when it came to rolling out the pastry it was very fragile and I had to patch a piece. The proof is in the pudding though and it did taste good! The pastry was thin and delicious, and the lemon filling had a lovely texture and colour.
Take 2
As I like to get things right (I would say perfect but I don't think anything can be?!) I decided to have another attempt but using a different recipe. I opted for Pierre Hermé's recipe for the filling, but exchanged his method of making pâte sucrée for one by Michelle Roux as it was late and I didn't have the ground almonds!
I tried to follow the recipe for the lemon cream religiously and things were going well until I had to whisk the sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest together until they reached 82°C/180°F. I used a jam thermometer which I realised afterwards wasn't going into the mixture deep enough to get a true reading. The recipe which is written by Dorie Greenspan says that it is important to get this temp. so I persevered for 50 l-o-ong minutes. I whisked for as long as my arm could take the heat - I was beating with one hand and trying to hold the thermometer out of the way and in the mixture with the other, all the while being blasted with hot jets of steam escaping between the bowl and saucepan. In the end the room was so full of steam that one of my recipe book's pages wrinkled. Very, very sad.
Finally I think the lemon cream got to 74°C/165°F which I LATER read was ok - http://www.doriegreenspan.com/print/2008/05/the-most-extraordinary-lemon-tart-re-thunk.html
Hhhmmmppphh. So after adding the butter and chilling, and making my pâte sucrée I assembled the tart and found it was still very tasty, whether it was lemon curd or cream. I will attempt this again I'm sure when my NEW food thermometer arrives, to see if it was just my thermometer causing problems, and to see if a shorter cooking time results in a lighter cream. I'm sure it does!
Here are the recipes for Dorie Greenspan and Pierre Hermé's lemon cream and Michel Roux's pâte sucrée. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/lemon-lemon-lemon-cream-recipe.html
Lemon Cream
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1) Preparation: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
2) Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.
3) Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heat—and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.
4) As soon as you reach 82°C/180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 60°C/140°F, about 10 minutes.
5) Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
6) Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of cling film against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the pastry case.
7) Serving: The tart should be served cold, because it is a particular pleasure to have the cold cream melt in your mouth.
Pâte Sucrée
INGREDIENTS 250g/ 1¾ cups plain flour
100g/ ½ cup butter, cubed and slightly softened
100g/ 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
A few weeks ago I felt like something indulgent but didn't want anything too sweet so opted for a classic tarte au citron. I followed a recipe by Raymond Blanc and found his take on the tart fairly easy to make and delicious, except for the pastry. I'm still not sure if the recipe is right but it said the mixture should be a crumbly texture after mixing the butter, icing sugar, eggs and flour together. I found it to be very wet, nowhere near crumb-like, so I added a bit of extra flour and when it came to rolling out the pastry it was very fragile and I had to patch a piece. The proof is in the pudding though and it did taste good! The pastry was thin and delicious, and the lemon filling had a lovely texture and colour.
Take 2
As I like to get things right (I would say perfect but I don't think anything can be?!) I decided to have another attempt but using a different recipe. I opted for Pierre Hermé's recipe for the filling, but exchanged his method of making pâte sucrée for one by Michelle Roux as it was late and I didn't have the ground almonds!
I tried to follow the recipe for the lemon cream religiously and things were going well until I had to whisk the sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest together until they reached 82°C/180°F. I used a jam thermometer which I realised afterwards wasn't going into the mixture deep enough to get a true reading. The recipe which is written by Dorie Greenspan says that it is important to get this temp. so I persevered for 50 l-o-ong minutes. I whisked for as long as my arm could take the heat - I was beating with one hand and trying to hold the thermometer out of the way and in the mixture with the other, all the while being blasted with hot jets of steam escaping between the bowl and saucepan. In the end the room was so full of steam that one of my recipe book's pages wrinkled. Very, very sad.
Finally I think the lemon cream got to 74°C/165°F which I LATER read was ok - http://www.doriegreenspan.com/print/2008/05/the-most-extraordinary-lemon-tart-re-thunk.html
Hhhmmmppphh. So after adding the butter and chilling, and making my pâte sucrée I assembled the tart and found it was still very tasty, whether it was lemon curd or cream. I will attempt this again I'm sure when my NEW food thermometer arrives, to see if it was just my thermometer causing problems, and to see if a shorter cooking time results in a lighter cream. I'm sure it does!
Here are the recipes for Dorie Greenspan and Pierre Hermé's lemon cream and Michel Roux's pâte sucrée. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/lemon-lemon-lemon-cream-recipe.html
Lemon Cream
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (21 tablespoons; 10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1) Preparation: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at the ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
2) Put the sugar and zest in a large metal bowl that can be fitted into the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.
3) Fit the bowl into the pan (make certain the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and cook, stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180°F. As you whisk the cream over heat—and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience—depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.
4) As soon as you reach 82°C/180°F, pull the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 60°C/140°F, about 10 minutes.
5) Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
6) Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of cling film against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the pastry case.
7) Serving: The tart should be served cold, because it is a particular pleasure to have the cold cream melt in your mouth.
Pâte Sucrée
INGREDIENTS 250g/ 1¾ cups plain flour
100g/ ½ cup butter, cubed and slightly softened
100g/ 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1) Put the flour in a mound on a work surface (ideally marble) and make a well. Put in the butter, icing sugar and salt, and mix these ingredients together with your fingertips.
2) Gradually draw the flour into the centre and mix with your fingertips until the dough becomes slightly grainy.
3) Again, make a well and add the eggs. Work them into the flour mixture, using your fingertips, until the dough begins to hold together.
4) When the dough is well amalgamated, knead it a few times with the palm of your hand until smooth. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before using.
5) When the dough is rested and you are ready to use it, unwrap and roll out on a lightly floured clean surface to a 2-3mm thickness.
3) Again, make a well and add the eggs. Work them into the flour mixture, using your fingertips, until the dough begins to hold together.
4) When the dough is well amalgamated, knead it a few times with the palm of your hand until smooth. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before using.
5) When the dough is rested and you are ready to use it, unwrap and roll out on a lightly floured clean surface to a 2-3mm thickness.
6) Use the rolling pin to roll up the pastry and lay it in the flan tin without stretching. Trim off the excess pastry by simply rolling the pin across the top, and lightly press the edges into the tin. Pop it in the fridge for 30mins to avoid any shrinkage.
7) Take out the tart case and prick the base. Line the case with some foil or greaseproof paper and fill the bottom with baking beans. Bake at 190°C/374°F for 20mins.
8) Remove from the oven and take out the foil and beans and put back in the oven for 10mins to colour the base.
When the pastry had cooled completely I spooned in the lemon cream filling and spread it out evenly, before putting in the fridge to chill. In the DG/PH recipe there is a glaze to add to give a more pristine finish, but I again didn't have some of the ingredients. C'est la vie, it still tasted good!
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