Lemon Tart

23cm/9” tart or flan dish, ceramic baking beans, parchment paper, pastry blender and 2 x mixing bowls

SWEET PASTRY
150g Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour
75g butter
75g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
butter, for dish
flour, for dusting

LEMON FILLING AND TOPPING
3 lemons
3 eggs
175g caster sugar
125ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar

Blind Baking  190°C, Fan 170°C, 375°F, Gas 5

Lemon Tart 150°C, Fan 130°C, 300°F, Gas 2 

Sweet Pastry

1. Pre-heat the oven.
2. Rub some butter around the inside of a 23cm/9” tart or flan dish.
3. Put the flour into a mixing bowl.
4. Chop the butter into small cubes and add them to the bowl.
5. Using a fork or pastry blender work the flour and butter cubes together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
6. Stir in the sugar.
7. Add the egg yolks and stir well.
8. Using your hands gather the mix together to form a smooth ball of pastry dough.

Blind Baking

1. Dust the work surface with flour, put the dough in the middle and sprinkle it with flour.
2. Roll out the pastry into a circle 5cm/2” larger than your dish and lift it into the dish, OR simply press it into the baking dish using your fingers.
3. Cut away any pastry that hangs over the edge of the dish.
4. Prick the pastry all over with a fork.
5. Lay a large piece of parchment paper over the raw pastry, making sure all the edges are covered.
6. Scatter ceramic baking beans (or rice or flour) over the parchment paper, spreading them all over the surface.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper and contents off the pastry.
9. Return the pastry to the oven and cook for a further 4-5 minutes without browning too much.
10. Take the dish out of the oven and gently remove the warm pastry case out of the dish and leave it to cool.

Lemon Filling and Topping

1. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C, Fan 130°C, 300°F, Gas 2.
2. Squeeze the juice from the lemons.
3. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat them together.
4. Add the caster sugar and lemon juice and whisk until well combined.
5. Stir in the cream.
6. Pour the mixture through a sieve into the pastry case.
7. Bake for 25-28 minutes. The filling should be just wobbly and will set as the tart cools.
8. Chill the tart.
9. Dust the edges with sieved icing sugar before serving.