Lemon tart is a delightful dessert. It is served cold, and it melts in the mouth in a lemon explosion embraced by a super crunchy shortcrust pastry. The gluten-free shortcrust pastry is prepared in a short time and does not need to rest. It can be rolled out and cooked immediately after preparing it. It is also an excellent recipe for any tart served at teatime.
For the filling, we’ve stolen the method from a classic lemon posset, a spoon dessert that requires only three ingredients, very quick and easy to prepare.
Below is the step-by-step recipe with some tips and tricks for an outstanding result.
See also: Blueberry muffins. Recipe for soft muffins, quick and easy
Ingredients
For a 22cm round cake tin – preparation time 15 minutes – cooking time 20 minutes – standing time 4 hours.
For the pastry:
- 200g gluten-free flour
- 50g icing sugar
- 100g cold butter
- 50ml cold water
- A pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar
- Rice for blind baking shortcrust pastry
For the stuffing:
- 450ml fresh double cream
- 120g sugar
- 1 ½ lemons, juice and zest
Method
1. For the pastry, sift the icing sugar and add the cold butter cubes. With a whisk, work the butter and sugar until you get a fairly homogeneous mix – you don’t have to cream it.
2. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and work again with the whisk to obtain a nice sandy mix. Gradually add the cold water – you may not need all the 50ml-, the vinegar and knead using a spoon.
3. When you have obtained a smooth and soft dough, flour the surface and roll out the pastry about 5mm thick with a rolling pin. Arrange it on a lined baking tray, and with a fork, make holes in the bottom.
4. Cover the pastry with a sheet of parchment paper and pour in some rice. Blind bake it for 25 minutes at 180° C – halfway through baking, remove the parchment paper with the rice and let the pastry brown. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing cream and sugar in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil, and letting it simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Remove the cream and sugar from the heat, add the grated zest and lemon juice and mix well. When the pastry is ready, pour the mixture inside with the help of a colander. Place in the fridge and let it cool completely – about 4 hours. Decorate and serve very cold.
Tips
– To keep the shortcrust pastry water cold, add a couple of ice cubes
– Let the pastry shell cool before adding the filling. Otherwise, the pastry could get soggy due to excessive heat.
– The filling tends to thicken very quickly, thanks to the reaction of the lemon in the hot cream, so the pastry shell must be well cooked and ready to use.
