Lemon Tart

Submitted by Stacey Hutchings

We had this delicious tart at the March Book Club Meeting.  The recipe comes from the book of the same name, Lemon Tart, by Josi S. Kilpack.  You can find all the the book's recipes here.  I did have to make a couple of changes though.

Crust

1 cup flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) of very cold, unsalted butter--cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk

2 Tablespoons ice water

1 egg white, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

In a food processor or mixer, combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine.  Add butter and pulse until the dough resembles cornmeal.  Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse together until a dough comes together. Roll into a circle, on a lightly floured surface, to fit a 9 1/2 inch tart pan.  Lay into tart pan and press into the edges.  Roll the rolling pin over the to to make a nice edge. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Cover the shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill it with beans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans. Brush egg white mixture onto the bottom and sides of the tart shell; set aside to cool.

Filling
5 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2-4 lemons—DO NOT use concentrated lemon juice)
2 large eggs
Zest from one lemon (get zest from lemon before juicing)
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth. Add sugar. Mix
until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each egg. Stop and scrape bowl halfway through. Add the lemon juice, zest and salt and mix until smooth.  Pour filling into tart crust and bake on cookie sheet for 20 to 30 minutes (mine cooked in 22 minutes) or until filling is set. Let tart cool
on wire cooling rack. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Use whipped cream as an optional topping. It can be piped on in stars or served on top with each piece. For
extra flavor in the whipped cream, add a teaspoon of lemon zest.  As my tart cooled, it pulled away from the crust a little bit leaving gaps.  That's why I did a whipped cream border of stars around the edge--to cover the gaps.

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