Friday, September 16, 2011

mini lemon tartes.


tangy, tangier,
lemon tarte!

this is a great dessert, that almost everybody loves:
it's a great sweet'n'sour sensation on your tongue, it has a crunchy buttery crust, and a smooth butter taste in the lemon custard.

there'a a lot going on at work at the moment, and i'm applying for a stipend in london
and and and
but one should always find time to bake a special something.

this is a special something.

next weekend i'm making a wedding cake @mönnig for a good acquaintance and one layer will include this custard!


mini lemon tartes 

makes 6 tartes, 8 cm in diameter

pâte brisée:

100g butter
60g powdered sugar
10g eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
large pinch of salt
165g all-purpose flour

lemon custard:

2 eggs
185g sugar
120g lemon juice
lemon zest of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
175g butter
4g gelatine

make pâte brisée: 
cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt.
add flour, blend well.
chill for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
 then roll the dough around 3-4mm thick, into your mini tarte forms.
poke the bottoms with a fork, to avoid air bubbles.
bake for around 10 minutes, or until golden-brown at 180 degrees celcius.
let cool.

for the custard: 
soak gelatin in cold water, if using leaf gelatine.
if using powdered gelatine, just stir in later into hot mixture.
mix eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and salt.
cut butter into cubes and add.
heat on high heat, stirring constantly.
do not leave your custard, or else your eggs might scramble!
when your custard boils, boil for one minute, remove from heat and stir in the gelatine (if using leaf gelatine, squeeze out excess water slightly).
let cool slightly, then fill into the tarte form.
i used a small plastic funnel (which has a stopper) for this.
let cool.
garnish with fruit or sugar and serve with whipped cream or creme fraiche.