Lemon Tarts!

I have been making these lemon tarts ever since I was in 7th grade and they never fail to impress. I first made them after I finished my finals as a way to celebrate my freedom from studies for 2 months since summer had started and they turned out to be the perfect summer dessert! Their tangy but sweet interior perfectly contrasted with their buttery tart shells! This was the first time I had attempted tarts and they came out perfect!! When life gives you lemons, make tarts out of them, and here's the recipe to do just that!

Information

• Preparation time: 20 minutes

• Cooking time: 15 minutes

• Chilling time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Pastry

  • 2 cups plain flour

  • 1/4 cup caster sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter

  • 1 small egg

• Lemon Curd

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 4 lemons, zested and juiced

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

• In a large bowl, sift the flour and caster sugar together. Add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Rub in the unsalted butter and finally add in the egg to make a dough. Cover the dough in cling wrap and chill for 1 hour.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Flour your surface and butter your tart cases. Roll out the pastry to 2mm thickness and cut into circles. carefully lift the circles and place them in the buttered tart cases. Push them in so they fit snugly. Pop them back in the fridge for around 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes, line them with baking paper or parchment paper and fill the shells with rice or beans. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

• To make the curd, mix the eggs, lemon zest and juice, and sugar in a large glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens, this should take around 6 minutes. Beat in the melted butter a little at a time or until the mixture is smooth. Cool with a piece of cling wrap on top.

• Once the tartlets are done, let them rest in the fridge for 10 minutes. After, spoon the lemon curd into the tartlets and chill for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, your lemon tarts are ready!

• Enjoy!!