When Life Gives you Lemons...

My conscience plagues me when I fall for berries that have traveled first class on an airplane to get to my store....but how could I resist these glistening sweet-tart jewels when that very morning I had been seduced by descriptions (on one of my favorite food blogs: Food 52) of a meltingly tender butter crust and luscious lemon cream?

The butter crust was something new to me, one that is cooked in a pot rather than cutting little icy cubes of fat into cold flour. I modified this recipe slightly, making the first step stove top rather than in the oven.

Paule Caillat's Brown Butter Tart Crust

 Makes 8 1/2" or 21 cm tart shell

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• A slightly mounded cupful flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• pinch of salt 

 

1. Heat the oven to 410° F (210° C).
2. In a small thick-bottomed pot, combine the butter, oil, water, salt, and sugar.
3. Place on stove until the mixture is boiling and the butter starts browning.
4. Remove from heat, add flour quickly, until it forms a ball. Keep adding flour, one spoonful at the time, until it pulls off the sides of the bowl.
5. Once the dough is cool enough to touch, press it in to the tart mold evenly with your fingertips.
6. Pierce the bottom with a fork, line the sides with the back of the fork to form ridges.
7. Bake at 410° F (210° C) for 15 minutes or until the crust is light brown and shows fine cracks.
8. Remove carefully from oven. It is ready for filling.

While the crust cooled I turned my attention to the filling:

Tartine Bakery's Lemon Cream

 Makes about 2 1/2 cups

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons lemon juice (Meyer or regular)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter

1. Pour water to a depth of about 2 inches into a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a simmer.
2. Combine the lemon juice, whole eggs, yolk, sugar, and salt in a stainless steel bowl that will rest securely in the rim of a saucepan over, not touching, the water. (Never let the egg yolks and sugar sit together for more than a moment without stirring; the sugar will cook the yolks and turn them granular.) Place the bowl over the saucepan and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes very thick and registers 180° F on a thermometer. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. If you don't have or trust your thermometer, don't worry. It should thicken to the point that your whisk leaves a trail through the curd.
3. Remove the bowl from over the water and let cool to 140° F, stirring from time to time to release the heat.
4. Meanwhile, cut butter into 1-tablespoon (15-ml) pieces. When the cream is ready, leave it in the bowl if using an immersion blender, or pour it into a countertop blender. With the blender running, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition until incorporated before adding the next piece. The cream will be pale yellow and opaque and quite thick.
5. You can use the cream immediately, or pour it into a storage container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To use after refrigeration, if necessary, gently heat in a stainless steel bowl set over simmering water until it has softened, whisking constantly.

While the curd cooled I melted some nice dark chocolate to paint on the crust, creating a barrier between it and the curd to prevent sogginess. Unfortunately I overdid it a bit, so lesson learned: make it quite a thin layer or you will have to use a great deal of force to break through the chocolate when cutting the tart.

Once  the curd was cool I spread it over the hardened chocolate, followed by the berries. Arrange free-form or geometrically, this is where you get to have fun, channel your inner child and play a bit.

The final touch is to heat apricot preserves with a splash of water in a small bowl in the microwave. Gently drizzle it over the berries to create a gleaming seal and let the tart set up for a hour or so in the fridge.

Nary a slice made it to the office, much to the chagrin of my co-workers...next time, I promise!