France is world famous not only for its wines and cognac, it is deservedly considered the culinary leader. And her gourmet interests include not only frog legs, truffles and onion soup. French pastries are respected by the sweet tooth of all countries. It was thanks to the southern French town of Menton that lemon tart began its victorious procession. This province is known for its lemon gardens, and the city itself is known for the festival of lemons, during which sculptures are made of citruses and erect intricate buildings. Since lemon is a very acidic product, you just can't chew it. So a treat was invented, which is now baked everywhere, although it is called differently, including "Pie".
The subtleties of processing lemons
Not everyone knows that the temperature of these citrus fruits greatly affects the quality of their products. So, if you decide to squeeze the
juice out of
lemons, you should get them out of the refrigerator in advance - and you will get more drink, and the smell will be more pronounced.
Another thing is if you need zest. From chilled fruits, it is removed more subtly, without dragging a white layer. The zest particles are the same in size, and she herself is more fragrant. So it’s better to put the lemon in the refrigerator for an hour (just don’t freeze it in any case), and then remove the skin.
It will also be worth reminding that white fibrils are bitter, they can ruin the taste of the dish. Therefore, remove the zest carefully and carefully.
What tart consists of
To prepare the dough, you will need the following products: 200 g flour; 3 large spoons of sugar; half a teaspoon of salt; 100-120 g (depending on fat content) of butter; yolk and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Basically, lemon tart has shortbread dough. Flour, salt and sugar are mixed, finely chopped, pre-chilled oil is added. Mix all the components to the state of small crumbs. Having achieved the necessary consistency, egg yolk is introduced into the future delicacy along with lemon juice. Naturally, the juice should be freshly squeezed, not concentrated, purchased. A true lemon tart will not tolerate such abuse.
All components must be stirred until a homogeneous mass is formed, without lumps and inclusions. If it seems a little dry - add the juice dropwise, constantly stirring. When the result will satisfy you, take a high form, grease it and put the dough to the bottom, constructing the sides. Breaks and cracks should be avoided! In principle, this is not difficult - the dough is soft, but if it starts to break, it means that there is still not enough juice.
The form is covered with foil (or parchment) on which the goods are placed. According to the rules - special balls, but they are easily replaced with a layer of peas or beans, the main thing is that they are poured evenly. Lemon tart should not rise during baking, which lasts 15-20 minutes.
Baking basics
The oven is heated to 220 degrees, and the future dessert is placed there for a quarter of an hour directly with foil and oppression. Mistresses who dealt with shortcrust pastry know that on the basis of the recipe considered, you can build a lot of all sorts of goodies. Moreover, in some cases, preliminary baking is not required. For example, if the filling is made from fruits, dessert can be sent to the oven with them. But traditionally lemon tart begins with rather liquid contents, so you still have to bake the base.
When 15 minutes expire, the foil (parchment) with the load is removed, and the form is returned to the oven for another five minutes to brown the dough.
Traditional filling
French lemon tart implies the use of the mentioned citrus not only for the dough, but also for the filling. Three quarters of a glass of sugar beat with three eggs until a white foam forms. Melt 100 g of quality butter slowly, constantly stirring, melt (however, you can use the microwave) and pour half a glass of the same lemon juice into eggs with sugar. Everything is mixed very carefully. When it was possible to achieve perfection, grated zest is added to the resulting mass.
The mixture is carefully poured into a mold, which is again placed in the oven for a quarter of an hour. The filling turns into delicate meringue with a lemon smell and taste.
Pure french cream
Naturally, the described way to fill a treat is far from the only one. No less popular is tart with lemon cream. The basis remains the same, but with the filling you have to tinker longer.
First of all, you need a water bath. Lemon juice, eggs and sugar are combined in a bowl and stirred all the time while the bath is “working”, otherwise the eggs will curl up and you will have to start over. When the contents of the pan become thick, the container is removed, and the mixture is filtered (in case of lumps) through a strainer. Butter is put in a hot mass; stir until it dissolves. It remains to add the zest, pour the cream into the base and cover with foil, film or parchment for cooling time, so that the crust does not appear.
Tart Taten: also delicious with apples
Apple tart is no less popular in France and in other countries. It is notable for the fact that it also includes caramel. True, because of this, it is more difficult to prepare.
Preparation of apples is not difficult: peel, cut out the middle, cut, sprinkle with lemon juice - and to the side. Caramel needs attention. Sugar (100 g) is poured into a small bowl or saucepan and, with constant stirring, melts to the color you like. Do not overdo it! Burnt caramel is only suitable in the bin. The juice of half a lemon is squeezed into a bowl removed from the fire, everything is mixed and poured into a mold in which apple tart will be baked. To make it easier to remove it later, the bottom must be covered with parchment. Apples are vertically stuck into the caramel and sprinkled with sugar (ideally brown). If desired, you can also sprinkle with cinnamon. The butter, cut into pieces, is laid out between pieces of fruit.
Upside Down Tart
This version of the favorite French goodies is also interesting because it is done as if on the contrary. That is, the dough is not on the bottom of the form, but on top. When the filling is prepared, all the same shortcrust pastry is put on the mold and tucked under the apples. Bake apple tart will be half an hour or a little more.
The most crucial step remains: take out the finished dish. This is done gradually: first, the form cools for 5 minutes in the form in which it was taken out. Then it is covered with a large dish, flips over and stands there for another 5 minutes. And only after these manipulations the form is carefully removed.
They say that every housewife cooks her own soup. Note: not only borsch, but also apple tart. The recipe may include caramelizing apples; the dough can be prepared a little differently - someone uses grandmother's secrets or mother's tricks. One thing remains unchanged: it is always baked upside down.
Nice addition
The French have this dessert excess called meringues. We are more familiar with the word "meringue", which, incidentally, also came from France. So, we offer the hostesses a recipe for a culinary masterpiece called "Lemon Tart with Meringue."
Its preparation until a certain point is no different from tart with lemon cream. When the product is baked, it is set aside to cool, and at this time the final touch is prepared. First, on a small fire, sugar is dissolved in water. Its quantity depends on the number of eggs: for each protein, it’s 50 g. You can take more, then the foam will be denser, but the meringues themselves will be sugary.
Eggs should be warm - so they beat more luxuriantly. Squirrels are separated from the yolks. Beat well and thoroughly. When the mass becomes airy, syrup flows into it in a thin stream; whipping continues. You can stop it only when the proteins have cooled.
The resulting meringues are laid out on the cooled lemon tart as artistically as possible: in separate towers, smooth bends, spirals. Decorated in this way, the dessert is put in the oven. When the meringue becomes a pleasant creamy color, the tart is ready.
And now choose a recipe to your liking and boldly proceed to creation.