Desserts – Sour Cream Lemon Tart

If I’m in a café nurturing a mid-afternoon sugar slump, the chances are I’ll be doing so with a lemon tart.

As a result of considerable testing in this area I can tell you that no two tarts are the same. Some have a definite firm set and strong acidic after-taste, others don’t have much depth and instead seem to have more pastry than filling. By far the best type of tart to me is the one that has a generous depth of filling, a gentle tang of lemon offset by a velvety sweetness, a crisp and buttery sweet pastry and most importantly, a lightness of texture, right down to the gentle wobble as my fork cuts into it.

As you can tell, I’ve done a bit of research.

Sour cream lemon pie is popular across the United States and as you’d expect, there are lots of variations. Consisting of a deep filling over a shortcrust pastry shell and topped with lots of whipped cream, it’s a dessert I immediately wanted to tinker with. While I love the deep filling, I wanted to change the pastry to give a much flakier, crisper texture. The filling, which has a beautiful wobble and a mousse-like texture, has a lovely subdued lemon sharpness offset by a hint of sour cream. It’s so good I don’t think it needs a whipped cream topping at all so have left it as a bare-faced tart to the world, but if you really want to guild the lily, a bit on the side would be all it needs.

This is such a lovely addition to my collection that I will probably forego all other versions of a lemon tart – including those in my local cafés. Mission, accomplished.

Makes a 22cm tart

INGREDIENTS

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: 120g plain flour; 60g butter; 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar; 2 egg yolks

Filling: 1 cup caster sugar; 3 rounded tbsp (¼ cup) cornflour; 3 large lemons; 3 egg yolks; 1 cup (250 ml) milk; ½ cup (125 ml) water;  60g butter; 300 ml sour cream

METHOD

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:  Sift the flour and icing sugar into a food processor and add the chopped up cold butter. Process for 20-30 seconds only then add yolks. Process until the pastry comes together in a ball, remove and chill thoroughly, at least 2 hours before using.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Roll out the chilled pastry to a depth of 3mm and line a 22cm tart tin. Trim the edges. Line the pastry crust with a sheet of baking paper and weigh it down with some rice or baking weights. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the baking paper and rice. Return the partly cooked pastry shell to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes until it is crisp and golden brown. Allow it to cool in the tin.

Filling: While the pastry shell is cooling, place the sugar and cornflour in a medium-sized saucepan. Finely grate the zest of two lemons and then juice all three lemons and add to the cornflour mix.

Add the egg yolks, milk and water and blend to a smooth paste with a balloon whisk. Stir well to dissolve as much of the cornflour as you can. Dice the butter into small cubes and add to the mixture.

Place the saucepan over a medium heat and stir the filling well until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Keep stirring and scrape up the filling from the bottom of the saucepan to prevent it from burning. Bring the custard to a gentle simmer and beat it really well with a balloon whisk to prevent lumps from forming and to make a smooth and very thick filling.

Pour the hot custard into a bowl and place a circle of baking paper or some clingwrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming. Allow to cool to room temperature, then stir through the sour cream until well combined.

Pour the lemon filling into the tart shell and place the pie in the fridge to chill for at least four hours. Cut it into wedges with a sharp knife and serve with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.

COST

$9.50 for a 22cm tart or enough for 8 generous serves.