Cook and Drink

Earlier we wrote about Tarte au Citron, or Lemon Pie. This is a recipe for a Tartelette au Citron, a small but very different pie. The filling is lemon curd, which you add to the pastry case just before serving. You can easily make both components a day ahead. The crunchy, slightly sweet pastry case and the soft, rich, tart filling go together very well. You could decorate the tartelette with meringue or chocolate sprinkles, but we prefer them as they are. Great with a strong cup of coffee.

What You Need

• Pâte Sucrée
  • 50 grams of Unsalted Butter
  • 40 grams of Caster Sugar
  • 125 grams of All Purpose Flour
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 1 Organic Egg
  • Water (optional)
• Curd
  • 65 ml of Lemon Juice
  • 65 grams of Unsalted Butter
  • 80 grams of Fine Sugar
  • One Organic Egg

What You Do (Curd)

1. Beat the egg
2. Melt the butter
3. Combine all ingredients.
4. Cook Au Bain Marie until you have the right consistency.
5. Or transfer to your microwave, put it on 50% or 70% power (depending on your microwave) and heat with intervals of 20-30 seconds. Mix between the intervals. This is a very precise way of heating the mixture and it gives you full control over the process. Towards the end of the process, you may want to reduce the power or shorten the intervals. The percentage and the duration of the intervals depend on your microwave and the bowl you use.
6. Set aside and allow to cool.
7. Transfer the curd to the refrigerator. It will keep for a few days.

What You Do (Pastry Case)

1. Combine sugar, flour and salt.
2. Dice butter, add to the mixture and combine. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks.
3. Beat the egg and add.
4. Use your hands to make the dough. It should not be sticky, so it must be easy to make a ball. If too dry, add just a bit of water. If too wet, add some flour.
5. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in kitchen foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours. It can be stored for a few days.
6. Flour your work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a larger than the top of the tartelette forms. We used 8 cm or 3 inch (quiche-) forms. The dough should be approximately 2 or 3 mm (0.1 inch) thick.
7. Coat the forms with butter.
8. Line the forms with the pastry. Press the pastry well into the sides and bottom. Use a knife to remove the excess dough.
9. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
10. Preheat the oven to 190 °C or 375 °F.
11. Use a fork to prick small holes in the pastry.
12. Line the forms with greaseproof paper or aluminum foil, add baking beans and bake blind for 10 minutes.
13. Remove the paper and the baking beans.
14. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 °C or 320 °F.
15. Transfer back to the oven for 5 minutes or until golden
16. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
17. When the pastry cases are completely cool, add the curd and serve

PS

• Two other very tasty Tartelettes: one with Blueberries and the other with Raspberries
• To be published: Tartelette with Pear