ce mercredi je mange ... une tarte au citron

LEMON TART - most people like it, I love it.  Preferably not too sweet, preferably without a meringue topping,  Just good pastry, and a VERY lemony filling.  For years I made my friend Martha's (not that Martha, my Martha!) great lime tart with  simple lime curd filling, no baking required,  great for parties because the curd could be made a couple of days ahead.

This winter I've been experimenting with different baked lemon tarts.  I wanted a lot of flavour and a quick easy recipe.  Here is the one I prefer, no grating of rind ( I hate that job!), no eggs to be separated, child's play!  In fact my daughter loves to make this herself.

To make the tart you will need  a pre-baked pastry case, using your favourite recipe, or using store-bought pastry (I won't tell!).  Pre heat your oven to  350°F (165´C.

For the filling:

1 good-sized lemon, rinsed and dried (I try to use organic because the rind is eaten here)
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar
1 stick (4 ounces or 115 grams)  butter, cut into small  pieces
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon table salt

 Slice the lemons into fairly thin rounds, this is just to remove any pips.  Pop all of the lemon except for the pips, into a food processor along with the butter and sugar.  Pulse and mix until all of this is really smooth and totally mixed together.  Now simply add the eggs , starch and salt and mix again.

Pour into the pastry shell and bake for about 40 minutes.  It will still move a little when you take it out, and will just begin to turn golden brown on top.  Let the tart cool then remove from the mould.  I forgot to say that I prefer to use a loose bottomed tart mould for this recipe, the tart looks so pretty on a plate.

You can eat this one warm, but I prefer cold, sprinkled with a little icing sugar.  This of course means it can be made ahead, Yay!

Bon appetit!

Recipe thanks to Smitten Kitchen