Lemon Curd Tart

One of the cheapest citrus fruit we can get our hands on in this part of the world other than oranges, would be lemons. There is something about lemons that makes the best addition to baking and cooking. It is so versatile and whoever first added it to desserts must have been a genius.

I'm not sure how I ended up with half a dozen lemons. And I probably kept putting off using them or forgetting what I had wanted them for in the first instance. Anyway rather than watching them go bad in the fridge, I decided to make some lemon curd. If you have never made lemon curd before, you would never believe how easy it is to whip up some. Imagine a bottle of this stuff sells just under SGD7.00 in Singapore. Wow, that could buy me a whole lot of lemons and churn up a few cups of lemon curd as well.

So there I was one evening, with a batch of lemon curd sitting in the fridge and thinking of what I could pair it with. I've done lemon shortbread before as well as adding the curd to a frosting for a lemon cake. How about keeping it simple and adding the curd to an empty baked Tart Shell . Now that would make it a lemon curd tart wouldn't it?



Lemon Curd
Recipe Adapted from Joy of Baking
(Makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
80 ml fresh lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon zest
140g granulated white sugar
56g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Method:

1) In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.

2) Stir constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (it should resemble sour cream or hollandaise sauce). This will take approximately 10 minutes.

3) Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.

4) Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

5) Use a clingwrap film to press against the top of the curd to prevent it from forming a skin. Cool and refrigerate. This can keep for about 2 weeks.

* If you want a lighter lemon curd whip 1/2 cup (120 ml) of heavy whipping cream and fold into the lemon curd.

** Room temperature lemons provide more juice. After squeezing, strain the juice to remove any pulp. Zest is the yellow, sweet-flavored outer rind of the lemon. A zester or fine grater can be used to remove the rind. Cold lemons are much easier to grate. Grate lemons just before using as the zest will lose moisture if it sits too long.