Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart
Adapted from The Berry Bible’s Lemon Curd Cake recipe, by Janie Hibler

For lemon curd filling:
Grated zest and juice of 2 large lemons (approximately ¼ cup juice)
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla

For crust:
1 ½ sticks butter
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
½ cup almond meal
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs

Preparation:
Prepare lemon curd: Place lemon zest, juice, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla in the top of a double boiler. Place over simmering water; top should not touch water. Cook, stirring constantly, until curd thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove top. Set aside to cool. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

Prepare crust: Butter an 11-inch tart pan (with removable bottom) and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Place remaining butter, flour, and sugar in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Add almond meal, almond extract, and eggs, and process until mixture forms a soft dough. Press two thirds of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, forming a crust about ¼-inch in thickness. Spread lemon curd on top. Crumble remaining dough over curd layer. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown, about 40-50 minutes. Cool in pan.

Serves 8.

Tip: If you have the time, make extra lemon curd to jar and store in your fridge. That will cut down prep time in case you ever want to make a lemon tart spur of the moment!

Also, when crumbling the dough on top, I like to leave some space around the bits of dough so that you can see the lemon curd in spots. Therefore, I find that I usually have enough dough in this recipe to make a little mini tart on the side – a treat for the cook 🙂