Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Tuesdays with Dorie—Tartest Lemon Tart

Tartest Lemon TartTartest Lemon Tart is definitely the tartest, most pucker worthy, and bitter tart I've tasted. But it's perfect. A spoonful of lemon with a chaser of homemade vanilla ice cream was sour, sweet and bitter all in one bite.

You need a blender or food processor to make this dessert. After removing the seeds from the lemons, all the ingredients are whizzed to a smooth consistency.

I baked some of the mixture in hollowed-out half lemons at a lower temperature of 300°F for 30 to 35 minutes (because my first batch of minis exploded). I also baked some in little antique tin molds for about the same length of time.

To serve, I spooned some vanilla ice cream on the side and placed an amaretti cookie in each.
What's your favorite lemon squeezer?
Mine is an antique one I found at a flea market.
Recipe

Makes 8 servings

Tartest Lemon Tart ingredients
1½ lemons, scrubbed and dried
1½ cups sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature (I used leftover eggs that I had frozen.)
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup heavy cream
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I didn't melt it.)

1 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough with nuts, partially baked and cooled (I used amaretti.)

You can find the recipe for Tartest Lemon Tart in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger! Thanks to Babette of Babette Feasts who chose the recipe for this week.

Tartest Lemon TartTasting Notes
What is it about lemons that make us want to squeeze out a bit of juice and feel our whole face pucker? We'll keep coming back to this dessert, just like this boy to his lemon slice…


Recipe for Next Week (May 19)
Kelly of Baking with the Boys selected Fresh Mango Bread on page 45.
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  • 43 comments:

    SweetThingsTO said...

    Great idea to put them in the lemon halves - and I love that kid. He just keeps going back for more! :-)

    Cynthia said...

    Liked your photos - tart in a lemon!

    Eliana said...

    I love how you made the custard and dipped the cookie in it. You are a GENIUS!

    April said...

    I love that you made mini's in the lemon cup!!

    Susan @ SGCC said...

    What a unique and lovely presentation! I love what you did with this recipe. Great work!

    vibi said...

    I love it, I love it! I missed it too... Oh! no! Not that everything you make is not wonderful! on the contraty! ...Simply, I missed that totaly crazy ingeniosity of yours! ...which is of course, not possible for EVERY recipe! But thank goodness for there are whole lemon tarts that call just for that! A thousand bravos, Shari!

    Teanna said...

    Mmmm I love the idea of baking it in the lemon halves!!! When I lived in Rome, there was a fantastic restaurant by my flat that served a different types of sorbettos served in their skins or shells - I will never forget it! And I love the cookie dipped in the lemon - yum!

    Anne said...

    I love your presentation (as usual, they're beautiful!) great job!

    Jennifer said...

    Wow, what a pretty presentation!

    I used the whole lemon (and 1/2) in mine and it really wasn't bitter, must have been my lemons.

    lisaiscooking said...

    I do love lemon, and a tart tart sounds great. These look fantastic in lemon halves too!

    Kara said...

    Oh to cute! :)

    I love the idea of baking in the lemons too ... so creative.

    angela@spinachtiger said...

    Really beautiful pictures. I also baked some without a crust and thought "they need a cookie" to absorb some of that tartness.

    Anonymous said...

    clever idea putting them straight into the shell of a lemon! :-)

    Sippity Sup said...

    r presentations are always so creative. GREG

    Manggy said...

    Oh, that presentation is just genius! (Again! :)
    That baby is just too cute and funny-- he just never lets up on that slice, haha! :)

    Soy*Baby said...

    So pretty. I would have never thought to bake them in the lemon halves.

    Dishin And Dishes said...

    Yumm I love lemon! So pretty the way you served them! How creative!

    Stacey said...

    Those look delicious and the way you have it displayed is so creative!

    Anonymous said...

    I love that you baked some in a half of lemon. It looks cool! I'm glad you liked it.

    Katrina said...

    Awesome idea with the lemon cups. Yummy tart lemoniness.

    Unknown said...

    Wow, how cool that you baked in a half lemon!! Mine was really bitter too but not in a good way :) Maybe if I'd tried it with some ice cream it would have gone over better.

    Maria said...

    I love the presentation! SO fun!!

    Anonymous said...

    I love your take on this, your photos are awesome!

    Di said...

    The lemon halves look cool. =) I really like the idea of eating this with vanilla ice cream. I'll have to give that a try. (Hmmm, maybe that means I should make ice cream....)

    Jules Someone said...

    Love the idea of the lemon halves! Very cool. Glad it was enjoyed.

    natalia said...

    You have the nicest ideas ! I love the tart too !!

    Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

    Beautiful! I think you are on to something with the ice cream and amaretti cookies. The filling was a little too bitter for me and your garnishes would probably be a nice balance to the bitter flavors.

    Anonymous said...

    i love that first photo! cookies dipped in custard? that must've been insanely yum!

    grace said...

    you always go above and beyond with your presentation and additions. this is stellar, and even makes me want a lemon dessert for the first time in my life. :)

    Christelle said...

    Love your presentation of it :)

    Jacque said...

    CUTE! Love those lemon cup lemon tarts!

    And bonus points for using up the amaretti cookies :)

    Unknown said...

    I never see lemon tarts served this way!!! Such a great idea, makes it an ultra lemony experience!

    http://be-a-glitzer.blogspot.com/

    Phoo-D said...

    What a beautiful presentation! We love lemon desserts and this is a novel way to serve custard.

    pigpigscorner said...

    I love how you put them in lemon halves! Looks wonderful.

    Irene said...

    I love those tin molds! I haven't tried this tart yet, I'm holding out for the lemon cream tart. :)

    The Food Librarian said...

    could you be more creative!?! you continue to amaze me!!! love these!

    PheMom said...

    You are always such a genius! I LOVE the ones cooked in the lemon!

    Linda said...

    I love, love, love how you baked the filling in the lemon halves. Brilliant!

    BTW, I'm having lemon squeezer envy...i always thought that citrus squeezers were a modern day invention.

    Mermaid Sews said...

    Wow, the lemon halves is such a great idea.

    anna said...

    That is an adorable way to present those! Yum! Now I want lemon!

    Kayte said...

    This looks lovely baked in the little lemon cups...so pretty and cheery! Exploding things...too funny...

    Megan said...

    Clever serving suggestions! I must say that using the whole lemon has me intrique with this tart. Loved the lemonboy! :)

    TeaLady said...

    How clever to use the lemons as cups. Love your mini pan.