Tarte au Citron

I have a confession, I ate 2 pieces of Tarte limone, 1 piece of peach/blueberry pie, a piece of pineapple-something pie and a piece of Mukova buchta (a Czech poppy seed pastry) yesterday! It was Mothers Day and all the mothers in my family made something special...I was being polite! It was so fabulous to indulge in so many lovely desserts!

My family tends to be "fruity", fruit pies, cobblers and pastries. John and his family tend to like chocolate, cakes and frosting. It is an excellent marriage of tastes!

I have been dying to use my new tart pan from France. A 9 inch square of fluted beauty with a toasty brown teflon surface and removable bottom. It's heavier than what I've seen available in the US.

I dug through all of my cookbooks and knew I didn't want a "baked" tart, I wanted it "filled". I had a bowl full of lemons that were enticing me with their fragrance...Viola! This is what I came up with. Enjoy!

Lemon Curd: You could always buy it in a jar, but why? This recipe came together like a dream, bright yellow, a touch of creaminess and bursting with lemon goodness!

I put the crust together first and got on with the curd, so the tart cooled as we finished up supper. I garnished each piece with a bit of whipped cream, but it was unnecessary, next time a scattering of green ground pistachios will do it!

PATE SUCRE:

1 1/2 cups sifted flour, all purpose
7 Tablespoons butter, chilled
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg beaten and mixed with
2 teaspoons water

In a large bowl, work together the flour and butter until incorporated. Add sugar, mixing with your fingertips and finally the egg and water. It will seem too dry, but you will want to knead it until you have a smooth consistency. Roll out on a floured surface to 10 inch circle or square. I cut my remaining dough off at the edge, or you could leave a 1/4 above the rim if you like. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes.

This crust is sturdy enough to make individual tartlets too! Simply bake about 8 minutes.


LEMON CURD:

2/3 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons, I would not use the bottled stuff)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup of sugar
3/4 Tablespoon butter

Use a bouble boiler if you have one, or I put a glass or metal bowl on top of a pan of simmering water. Put juice, zest, sugar and egg yolks together and stir continuously about 8-10 minutes until mixture has thickened to the consistency of sour cream. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until completely melted.

At this point I filled my pre-baked tart shell and refrigerated it for about 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap. You could also put your curd into covered jars. It will keep 1 week, chilled and covered.

It was a delightful Mother's Day, full of family, love, sunshine and desserts!