There is a certain degree of alchemy to baking. It's pretty remarkable that you can mix together some basic ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, and leavening, and get yummy cake. Paul Lowe (aka Sweet Paul) has a recipe for "Lemon Tarts with Almond Crust" that seems like nothing short of a magic trick; the filling for the tarts is nothing more than lemon-sugar syrup and eggs.
You have to start this recipe a day in advance. You thinly slice two lemons, place them in a bowl with granulated sugar, cover the bowl, and let it sit at room temperature. The following day, you end up with candied lemon slices in lemon-sugar syrup. For the crust, you mix together flour, almond flour, salt, sugar, cold butter, water, and an egg yolk. I made the crust in the food processor before pressing it into a tart pan, chilling it, and partially baking it until light golden brown.
To make the filling, you simply remove the lemon slices from the lemon-sugar syrup, whisk in eggs, and strain the mixture. My filling had a layer of cloudy film floating on top after I poured it into the partially-baked crust. I baked the tart until set, pulled it out of the oven to add some lemon slices on top, and put it back into the oven until lightly browned.
Although I was able to release the sides of the tart pan, the bottom was completely stuck, and I had to run the blade of an offset spatula under the crust to free it from the pan. I thought the tart looked okay and tasted okay. The layer of filling was thin, and I thought it had a weird texture. I was expecting something creamy and smooth, like lemon curd, but the texture was more like a buttermilk pie. I did love the candied lemon slices, which were tart and super chewy.
Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the tart, but my tasters enjoyed it, and one liked it enough it ask me for the recipe and make it for herself. The three-ingredient filling might be a bit of a culinary trick, but I wasn't feeling the magic.
Recipe: "Lemon Tarts with Almond Crust" from Sweet Paul Eat and Make by Paul Lowe.
You have to start this recipe a day in advance. You thinly slice two lemons, place them in a bowl with granulated sugar, cover the bowl, and let it sit at room temperature. The following day, you end up with candied lemon slices in lemon-sugar syrup. For the crust, you mix together flour, almond flour, salt, sugar, cold butter, water, and an egg yolk. I made the crust in the food processor before pressing it into a tart pan, chilling it, and partially baking it until light golden brown.
Although I was able to release the sides of the tart pan, the bottom was completely stuck, and I had to run the blade of an offset spatula under the crust to free it from the pan. I thought the tart looked okay and tasted okay. The layer of filling was thin, and I thought it had a weird texture. I was expecting something creamy and smooth, like lemon curd, but the texture was more like a buttermilk pie. I did love the candied lemon slices, which were tart and super chewy.
Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the tart, but my tasters enjoyed it, and one liked it enough it ask me for the recipe and make it for herself. The three-ingredient filling might be a bit of a culinary trick, but I wasn't feeling the magic.
Recipe: "Lemon Tarts with Almond Crust" from Sweet Paul Eat and Make by Paul Lowe.
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