A lemon tart (french: tarte au citron) is a
dessert dish, a variety of
tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes wit ...
. It has a
pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...
shell with a
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
flavored filling.
In the UK, lemon tart consists of a pastry case (often made in a fluted tart tin) containing a baked lemon
custard (usually composed of eggs, sugar, lemon juice and cream). Usually recipes include
blind-baking
Baking blind (sometimes called pre-baking) is the process of baking a pie crust or other pastry without the filling. Blind baking a pie crust is necessary when it will be filled with an unbaked filling (such as with pudding or cream pies), in wh ...
before adding the custard. Sometimes, the tart is dusted with icing sugar prior to serving.
Alternatively, the lemon filling can be cooked in a saucepan and then added to the baked pastry case.
A dessert very similar to the lemon tart is the
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
pie, usually served for
dessert, made with a
crust usually made of
shortcrust
Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicke ...
pastry and
lemon custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency ...
filling. The lemon pie is prepared with a bottom
pie crust
Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicke ...
. This pie is different from the
lemon meringue pie
Lemon meringue pie is a dessert pie consisting of a shortened pastry base filled with lemon curd and topped with meringue.
History
Fruit desserts covered with baked meringue were found beginning in the 18th century in France. Menon's ''pom ...
, which has meringue on top. No upper crust is used, as in a
cherry pie.
See also
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References
External links
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Tarts
Lemon dishes
Fruit pies
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