Lemon & Lime Cream Tart

For dessert on Saturday night I totally ignored my Curry theme & made a gorgeous lemon & lime tart, I thought the tanginess of this tart would be perfect after a night of curries. The recipe comes form Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef. To start with you make the pastry & there is enough for 2 which is handy as next time I need a quick dessert it’s just a matter of filling the case up! I also used the food processor option which makes it so easy. I love a lemon tart & this one is pretty good, very tangy & rich though so only the smallest piece is needed & berries of any type are great on the side.

Short Crust Sweet Pastry

To make 2 x 30cm/12 inch tart moulds
250g butter
200g icing sugar
a medium pinch of salt
500g flour
4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons cold milk/water

You can make this by hand or in a food processor. Cream together the butter, sugar & salt & then rub or pulse in the flour & egg yolks. When the mix has come together, looking like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold water or milk. Pat & gently work together to form a ball of dough. Use minimum movement as the more you work it the more elastic it will get, causing the pastry to shrink & be chewy. Roll into a large, short & fat sausage shape, wrap in glad wrap & place in the fridge for at lest 1 hour.

Carefully slice off thin slivers of pastry lengthways, around 5mm thick. Place the slivers in & around the bottom & sides of your tart mould, then push the pieces together & level out. Now it needs to rest again for at least 1 hour in the freezer this time.

Bake the tart for about 15 minutes at 180c, completely cool & fill with any uncooked fillings.

For baked fillings, bake blind first at 180c for only about 12 minutes. You can fill the shell with rice, baking beads, etc but if your pastry is straight out of the freezer you shouldn’t have problems with shrinkage, etc.

Lemon & Lime Cream Tart

1 tart shell, baked blind (For his tart egg wash before blind baking!!!)
340g caster sugar
8 large eggs
350ml double cream
200ml lime juice
100ml lemon juice

Egg wash your tart shell, then blind bake. This will keep the pastry crisp for longer.

Whisk together the sugar & eggs. When mixed well, slowly stir in the cream, lemon & lime juices. Put the shell back in the oven & slowly pour in the filling (this will reduce spillage). Bake for around 40-45 minutes at 180c or until the filling is set but semi wobbly in the middle. After cooling for an hour the filling will have firmed up. Don’t cut any earlier or it will be gooey & ooze out. If preferred dust with icing sugar to serve. Serve with fresh berries.

Tags: lemon, lime, tart, recipe