This week it’s pastry week at Mae Bakes! I’ve watched a billion shows about making tarts and thought why not give it a whirl? I’m still on a lemon kick from jam week (I’m always on a lemon kick, my love for lemons runs deep) so I decided my first ever tart would be a lemon tart. Just to prepare you pastry is not easy, but it sure is rewarding when you get it right. Check out the recipe below and keep reading to my donts that I did to find out why the biggest mistake I made baking this week had nothing to do with the recipe.
Ingredients for Tart Pastry
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter cut into chunks
2 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 tablespoon ice water
Directions for Tart Pastry
In medium bowl stir together flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea size.
In a small bowl stir together eggs yolks and cold water.
Gradually stir in egg mixture to flour mixture.
Using fingers gently knead dough just until a ball forms.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a lightly floured surface use your hands to slightly flatten pastry.
Roll pastry from center to edges into a circle about 11 inches in diameter.
Wrap pastry around rolling pin.
Unroll onto 9 inch tart pan that has a removable bottom.
Ease pastry onto pan without stretching it.
Press pastry into flattened sides of pan and trim edges.
Line pastry with double thickness foil and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Tart Filling Ingredients
2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
Tart Filling Instructions
Finely shred 4 teaspoons of lemon peel and set aside.
Squeeze lemons for 6 tablespoons of juice and set aside.
In a medium bowl combine sugar and flour.
Add eggs and beat with electric mixer on high speed about 4 minutes or until light in color and slightly thickened.
Stir in 4 teaspoons of lemon peel.
Add lemon juice and vanilla.
Pour into baked tart shell.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until filing is set and lightly browned.
Cool on wire rack.
Serve and Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks and a few Don’ts that I did
Go slow when adding the egg yolk mixture to your flour. The first time I made this tart I dumped it in all at once and it affected the flakiness of my crust.
Invest in a pastry blender. When I first heard about pastry blenders I thought they were actual blenders, as in something you plug into an outlet. They are not another kitchen appliance, but they are wonderful little hand tools that help you mix cold butter into flour in the best way. I still used my fingers at the end, but using one of these will help keep your butter cold in a way that warm hands obviously can’t. I’ve included a link to the one I have below. https://www.amazon.com/Spring-Chef-Professional-Stainless-Black-Medium/dp/B01CX1RIMQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Pastry+blender&qid=1579753632&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=
Don’t stress if your edges are a tad darker than the rest of your tart pastry. I researched for several hours, watched too many videos and read a whole bunch of tips about how to prevent burnt edges. About 98% of everything I read said to make a “shield” for your edges out of tin foil. I ended up tripling up the shields and my edges were still dark. Don’t let the color fool you, dark does not mean burnt. It still tasted amazing.
Do follow the time listed in the recipe and don’t over bake your tart. The instructions say until set. I missed that step and kept baking about 10 minutes longer than I was supposed to because I thought it wasn’t done. Even though my first one tasted fine, the second was AMAZING. Don’t forget, it’s not a cake it’s a tart, two very different textures.
And finally, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far on this adventure. Don’t take your bad day out on your bake (I like to refer to it as rage bake). I made the first tart when I was having an off day. Although I was doing something I loved to feel better I still rushed my bake and didn’t give it the attention I normally would have. The crust was not perfect, the texture wasn’t great and the taste was just okay. The second time I made it I took my time, put way more care into what I was doing and ended up enjoying the tart and the experience way more. The second tart was off the charts in every way (it’s been said it was my best bake yet). The crust was golden, the texture was beautiful and the taste was delicious. It may sound a little cheesy but I definitely think it had everything to do with how I felt while baking. I turned the first tart into a learning experience (mainly learning not to rage bake), but like I’ve said before, the more you bake the better you get. I’ve included a picture below to show you the differences in the two bakes.
Don’t forget to ENJOY (the bake AND the experience)
Mae Bakes 