Tarte Citron (lemon Tart)

But you don’t have to wait for a reason to celebrate. Today’s recipe is the
perfect ending to a rich, complex dinner. Once assembled, this tart
requires just a minute under the broiler and then an hour to set, so it’s
very simple to prepare. Try it for dessert tonight and your friends,
family, and guests will be impressed with your French pastry skills.

If you prefer to use your own puff pastry recipe instead of a prepared
pastry dough, just follow the instructions given below in The Kitchen Staff
Tips.

Pre-heat oven to 400-F degrees and assemble your mise-en-place, now.
(Mise-en-place defined: French cooking method whereby you arrange each
ingredient in the prepared portions and sequence you’ll require when
preparing your recipe.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough to about an
1/8-inch-thick circle that’s about 12 inches across. Transfer the pastry to
a 9-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Gently fit the
pastry into the pan and trim off any excess. Prick the bottom of the pastry
all over with a fork. Line the pasty with aluminum foil and weight it with
dried beans or rice, to keep the pastry from puffing up unevenly during
baking. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from the oven when lightly browned.
Remove the foil and weights and cool on a wire rack.

Pre-heat the broiler.

In the top pan of a double-boiler, mix the lemon juice, eggs, egg yolks,
and sugar over simmering water in the bottom of a double-boiler pan. Beat
the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes with a hand-held electric mixer or whisk.
Make sure the mixture is very thick and the batter clings to the utensil.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter pieces a little at a time.
Pour the custard into the puff pastry shell.

Place the lemon tart under the broiler for 60 seconds, or until the top is
just glazed. Let it sit at room temperature for about an hour, or until the
lemon filling is cooled and set.

Slice to serve. Refrigerate any remaining tart to store, but serve at room
temperature.
Kitchen Staff Tips: To prepare a from-scratch puff pastry, chill 1 cup of
butter or margarine. Reserve at least 2 tablespoons. Work the remaining
chilled butter with the back of a wooden spoon on a sheet of waxed paper
that is twice the size of an 9-inch by 12-inch sheet. Make sure to work on
one side of the wax paper, then fold the other side on top of the butter,
leaving room for the butter to spread as you roll it out to an even 8-inch
by 6-inch square. Chill the butter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour,
or place it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Cut the reserved 2 tablespoons butter into 1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose
flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gradually add 1/2 cup ice
water. A fork works great for blending the dough. Cover, and let rest for
10 minutes, then roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 15-inch
by 9-inch rectangle. Peel off one side of the wax paper from the chilled
butter and place on one side of the dough, then fold the dough over the top
of the butter and seal the edges. Wrap the butter and dough in wax paper
and chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to
a 15-inch by 9-inch rectangle. Make sure you roll out from the center to
keep the batter and dough layers equalized. Brush off any excess flour,
then fold the dough in thirds, turn the dough, and fold in thirds again.
Press the edges to seal. Wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour or
freeze the dough at this time.

To prepare your pastry, simply roll out the chilled or thawed dough to the
size required for baking. You now have 7 layers of butter and dough to form
a puff pastry while baking.