Yield: one 9-inch baked tart shell
Recipe: 91/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 108
Next up: Lemon Tart, also known as Tarte au Citron. To do this, of course, requires an appropriate and delicate tart shell.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake and pastry flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Beat the butter and the icing sugar together until fluffy using a hand or stand mixer.
- Stir in the egg, then add in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the flour and salt until the dough comes together as a ball. Note: the dough will be quite sticky.
- Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and then chill it for at least two hours in the fridge, until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Knead the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to soften it just slightly. Dust the pastry with a little flour and roll in out to just over 11 inches in diameter and just under 1/4 inch thick. Line a 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan and trim the dough that hangs over the edges. Chill the pastry for 20 minutes in the fridge, or for 10 minutes in the freezer.
- Placed the chilled tart pan on a baking tray. Dock the bottom of the pastry shell with a fork and bake the dough for 20-24 minutes, until just the edges are golden brown and the centre of the shell looks dry. Cool completely before filling.
- So that the tart shell doesn’t shrink within the tart pan as it bakes, I strongly recommend that you place a layer of parchment paper or aluminium foil over the forked dough, then cover this with pie weights(or something heavy than can withstand high temperatures) to weigh down the shell as it bakes and bubbles.
Notes from Anna:
- Fill the tart shell soon after baking it, as it is fragile when not filled. However, the dough can be chilled for up to 3 days and then baked.
Valerie
Valerie 