Lemon and cardamom tart

I do love a good dessert and one of my absolute favourites is the French classic tarte au citron, or lemon tart. Creamy and zingy, its smooth filling and light pastry is hard to resist. Today I took it upon myself to make some mini lemon tarts but I wished to add an exciting twist. An unusual but delicious spice, cardamom, unlike vanilla and cinnamon, is not what most people would usually think of incorporating into a dessert. So I decided to have a go and add it to my lemon tart custard. These lemon tarts are a delight, with a silky custard and crisp, short pastry.

Lemon and cardamom tarts

Makes 6-8 small tarts or 1 large one 

Ingredients

For the pastry

200 g plain flour
100 g butter
1 egg yolk
water to mix, approx. 2 tbsp

For the filling

3 large eggs
284 ml double cream
100 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 3 lemons will yield this volume)
150 g vanilla sugar 
2 cardamom pods, bashed briefly with a pestle and mortar to release seeds

Notes - If you don't have vanilla sugar then just use normal caster sugar. If cardamom doesn't sound entirely to your taste then omit it - you certainly won't regret making these lemon tarts! You don't have to make mini tarts, make a large one if you do not own small tart dishes. You can also add the zest of a lemon if you wish.

Method

1. Begin by making your pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk to the crumbs with enough water to bind them to form a soft dough - I used 2 tbsp but just use as much as is necessary. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Preheat your oven to gas mark 5.

2. Once chilled, roll your pastry out to a thickness of approximately 2-3 mm. Cut to fit into small fluted flan tins and press in firmly. Remove most of the excess by rolling your rolling pin over the tops of the tins, or simply use a knife leaving a small rim of excess pastry and just trim after baking. Chill for 5-10 minutes before baking. Prick the base of the tarts gently using a fork, line with foil or greaseproof paper and pour in some baking beans to stop the bases from puffing up during baking. If you don't have baking beans, use rice, coins or dried pulses. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Once cooked, turn the oven down to gas mark 1.

3. Meanwhile, make your filling. Pour the cream into a small saucepan along with the cardamom pods. Bring to the boil over a gentle heat. Once boiling point is reached turn off the heat and leave the cream to infuse whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

4. Crack the eggs into a large bowl with the sugar and briefly whisk together. Next whisk in the infused cream and the lemon juice. Take care not to over whisk as this will result in a undesirably foamy consistency. Sieve this mixture and leave to stand. 

5. Fill your pastry shells (still in flan tins) and place carefully into the oven (at gas mark 1). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set with only the slightest wobble. Leave to cool before enjoying as they are or with a dollop of crème fraîche, whipped or clotted cream or a simple fruit coulis - blueberries or strawberries would go very nicely. To make a coulis, simply place the desired fruit (make sure it is a soft fruit) and some caster sugar to taste and a good squeeze of lemon juice into a food processor and blitz until smooth. 

If making a full-sized tart, you will need to adjust the cooking times. As a rough guide, bake the pastry shell for approx. 15-20 minutes - just cook until golden. For the filling you will need to bake for around 40-50 minutes, but again keep checking until the custard is just set.

Bon appetit!


Sasha