PASTRY & VARIATION: This is basically a variation of the almond pastry introduced in the last post. The lemony filling goes well with this type of pastry. Enjoy!

LEMON TART WITH ALMOND PASTRY:

 

 

 

almond pastry:

    1 ½ cups all purpose flour                          

    ¼ cup blanched slivered almonds

    4-5 tbsp. ice-cold water                              

    ¼ tsp. salt

    ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

filling:

    3 eggs                                                                     

    ½ cup lemon juice + finely-grated zest of 1 lemon

    1 ¼ -1 ½ cups sugar                                    

    1 tbsp. tapioca starch

    ¼ cup melted butter                                    

   

 

 

Place almond in food processor fitted with steel blade and process until finely-ground. Add in flour and salt. Use on/ off pulsing action to mix together. Add butter into work bowl, pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add in ice water through feed tube in a steady stream; pulse on/ off just until ingredients are coming  together to form dough, adding a little more ice water if necessary. Do not over process.

 

Turn mixture out onto waxed paper, and gather paper up to form mixture into a ball. Knead once or twice to distribute the fat evenly. Flatten dough out into a large round and wrap it in plastic wraps. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes before using.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough out between 2 large sheets of waxed paper into a 12-inch round about 1/8-¼-inch thick. Lift and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom piece. Roll with rolling pin across the top to trim off excess dough. Line tart shell with a piece of waxed paper; and fill empty shell with baking beans or rice. Bake 20 minutes; then remove waxed paper and beans. Continue baking for 25-30 minutes more until tart is golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

 

Meanwhile, make filling by placing eggs in a warm bowl; then sit bowl in a pan of hot water for 20 minutes to warm up. Beat eggs with a whisk until lemony coloured. Add in lemon juice, sugar, tapioca starch and melted butter, whisking to mix ingredients well. Stir in lemon zest.

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Pour filling into tart shell and bake 35 to 40 minutes more or until filling is set.  Cool on rack. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries if preferred.