Lemon tart is possibly one of my favorite things to eat...and if that lemon tart is built on a bed of buttery, shortbread-like crust, filled with Monsieur Hermé's dreamy, mousse-like lemon cream, then topped with a cloud of marshmallow-like meringue with toasted tips? Then it is definitely my favorite thing to eat, no matter what time of day.
The crust is adapted from Dorie Greenspan's sweet tart dough, which is perfectly buttery and crumbly. I have used it in various tarts and tartlets with great success. It comes together rather quickly in a food processor, though gathering it into a dough takes a little more patience. It is a very soft dough, which can be difficult to roll out and transport onto the tart pan. She suggests rolling it between sheets of parchment then transporting it to the pan with the parchment. Though I have found it easier and more efficient to press pieces of dough onto the tart pan with my fingers. Just make sure that your hands are cold enough to avoid melting the butter in the dough!
The lemon creme is truly the star of the show. Unlike traditional lemon curd, which can be dense and jelly-like, Pierre Hermé's version is exceptionally light and airy despite its high butter content. Though the ingredients are almost identical to that of lemon curd, the process is vastly different. Instead of adding butter during cooking, it is left to the end, at room temperature, incorporated slowly into the lemon curd with a blender. Not only does the butter retains its creamy texture without melting, it also whips much more air into the creme, resulting in that dreamy airy decadence. The recipe will produce more lemon creme than needed for the tart, though that has never been a problem for me. I put it on EVERYTHING...from toast, to pancakes, to plain butter cookie...
Both the lemon creme and tart crust can be made ahead, though I would recommend starting the meringue only when you are ready to assemble the tart. I used a long tart pan of 5" X 13", with leftover lemon creme and tart dough.
Pierre Hermé's Lemon Creme
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup butter
In a medium-sized heat-proof bowl, combine lemon zest and sugar. Rub zest between fingers with sugar until fragrant, and the sugar becomes moist and attains a pale yellow color.
Whisk in eggs and lemon juice.
Set lemon mixture atop a pan of simmering water. While continuously stirring, heat to 180ºF, the mixture will thicken and become the consistency of custard.
Pour mixture into a blender. Cool to 140ºF. Turn on blender, adding in butter pieces one tablespoon at a time. After all the butter is incorporated, continue blending for 3 more minutes.
Pour lemon creme into a clean bowl. Press a piece of plastic film on top and let cool. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Sweet Tart Dough
adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
Put the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.
Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely, until pieces are about the size of oatmeal.
Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change - heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface.
Very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
Press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Avoid pressing too hard, as it will break the delicate shortbread-like texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust. Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan.
Meringue Topping
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
In a medium size bowl, beat egg whites and salt with an electric beater on low speed. As the whites become foamy, gradually add in sugar. Increase speed to medium, continue beating until stiff peaks (when the beaters are removed, the peaks stay upright!).
For Assembly
Remove the crust from the baking pan and set on a serving dish. Fill the crust with the lemon creme by spreading the creme in an even layer with an offset spatula. A piping bag can also be used.
Lightly spread prepared meringue on top of the lemon cream. With the back of a spoon, gently press on the meringue and lift up to create swirls ans spikes. With a kitchen blowtorch, brown the tips and spikes.
Tart may be served immediately or stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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