Lemon curd is one of the most versatile fillings. This freezes brilliantly! Just remove from freezer for 20-30 min before use. Use it alone with berries and cream. Use it as a base for lemon meringue pie. Or use it as a base for a classic French dessert: tarte au citron. Cover it in berries and whipped cream.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Yield: 1, 9″ pie crust
Make the Pâte Sucrée.*
Lemon Curd
4 lemons, zest and juice
110g/4oz butter, room temp
175g/6oz sugar
4 eggs, beaten
TIPS
Keep the Pâte Sucrée cold in the fridge when not using.
Freezes perfectly for months. Just defrost in fridge overnight.
Can be made as individual tarts in a muffin tin. These can freeze and be defrosted quickly.
STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and put a heavy baking tray in the oven to heat up.
Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured work surface and line a pie of fluted tart tin with the pastry.
Prick the base with a fork, to stop the base rising up during baking. Pop in fridge while you make the filling.
STEP 2: BLIND BAKE THE SHELL
Cover the pastry lightly with some baking parchment. Cover the parchment with baking beans or uncooked rice and place into the oven to bake blind for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and remove the baking beans or rice and the baking parchment and set aside to cool. If the pastry base is still a little raw, return to the oven for a minute or two to dry out.
STEP 3
Reduce the oven temperature to 165C/145C Fan/Gas 2.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice.
Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is well combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. It will look very loose before you start cooking it.
The lemon curd will thicken at about 76 degrees C, or just below simmer. When it reaches temperature, it may blurble out of the pot – be careful, it’s hot!
Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.
Once cool, pour into the pie shell and smooth top.
Bake for 5-10 minutes. Don’t let it burn. If it does, berries and whipped cream can hide all manner of sins.