It was a Sunday afternoon and Emily tells me she wants to bake something. Something instantly comes to mind: Tarte au Citron avec des framboises. Or, a lemon tart with raspberries! I kid you not, I had a dream about this tart the night before so I knew I needed to make it. (Side note: yes, I do dream about baking things… I know, I know, it’s a bit crazy but I can’t help it when inspiration comes!)
Lemon curd is one of Emily and my’s favorite things in the whole wide world so when I mentioned making a flaky pie crust filled with lemon curd topped with raspberries, she was in. 100% in. So we headed to Central Market to get some groceries and then an afternoon of baking began!
Warning: This tart has multiple steps but trust me when I say it’s so worth it. The lemon curd is tart while the raspberries provide a bit of sweetness and the crust is flaky and buttery. My mouth is watering!
Pie Crust:
Ingredients
6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cup very cold vegetable shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
How To: Dice the butter into cubes and put it to the refrigerator to stay chilled. In an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl. Once combined, add the butter and shortening and mix until the butter is the size of peas. With the mixer running, add the ice water an keep mixing until a dough ball begins to form. Once formed, dump onto a floured surface and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
When ready to bake the dough, take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll the piece on a well-floured board into a circle using a floured rolling pin. Make sure to continually move the dough in a circle so it won’t stick to the rolling surface. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. This recipe only makes one crust since there is no top crust to this tart. In the case you are making a pie, double the recipe for two crusts. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the pie crust begins to lightly brown on the edges. Once cooked, let the crust completely cool before topping with lemon curd.
Lemon Curd:
Ingredients
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
How To: Remove the zest of 3 lemons. Chop the zest with a knife until very fine. In an electric mixer, add the sugar and zest and mix until combined. To this mixture, add the room temperature butter and mix for 2-3 minutes until creamed together. After this, add the eggs one at a time. Then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until fully combined.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and slowly cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and allow to fully cool before pouring over the baked pie crust. Also, lick the spoon and bowl. Waste nothing…lemon curd is like gold. It’s the good stuff.
Putting it all Together: To put everything together, take the cooled pie crust and pour over the cooled lemon curd. Top with raspberries and BAM. You’ve got yourself a French and fancy dessert.
xo, Brinkles Sprinkles