Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries

When you think Football Playoffs I'm sure you all think "Yes I need a fresh fruit tart!" LOL. Well they might in 49er country. My brother and some of his friends came over to watch the first round playoff game last weekend...we had the usual 7 layer dip, hot dogs, chips, dip, cookies...but I had the hankering (yes hankering) to break out the Bain Marie again - I really enjoy that little kitchen tool!

I decided on a lemon tart. First because I had tart dough left over in the freezer from the week before and I had some lemons in the fruit basket that I really needed to start using. And so I ventured into my Tartine Bakery cookbook and attempted the lemon cream - holy schnikey...this cream is delicious. Tangy, smooth and well, creamy...different than lemon meringue pie filling. It's the addition of butter that rounds out the flavor with a heavier mouth feel and adds that richness that only dairy fats can provide - le sigh.

Regular or Meyer lemons?

There's a lot of hype about meyer lemons and they are tasty...but understand that they are milder than the common Eureka lemons. So depending on your desired tartness level you may want to use more of one or the other. I personally like a 50/50 combo on the lemon juice...and juice and zest them by the ton and freeze for future use. For zest, add enough water to cover the zest and then freeze to keep from browning.

NOTE - do not use an aluminum pan for lemon juice as the acidity reacts with the aluminum and you will have a metallic flavor to your dessert

Lemon Cream

1/2 cup lemon juice
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup cool unsalted butter, cut into cubes (2 sticks)

In a double boiler or BAIN MARIE!!! on medium high heat, combine the lemon juice, eggs, sugar and salt. Whisk the ingredients together and whisk constantly as you don't want the eggs to "cook" in a granular fashion because of the sugar. Keep whisking for about 10-12 minutes and the mixture will become very thick (temp will register 180 degrees). Remove from heat.

Separately start to incorporate the butter either by whisking or with an immersion stick blender, one tablespoon at a time. The cream will be a pale, opaque yellow.

Let cool...you can use immediately or put in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I am not sure if you can freeze this recipe...I have frozen other lemon curds and they were fine.

To assemble...
Prepare your tart shell... roll out to 1/8" thick, press into the pan, cut off the edges and bake for 7-10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Spread the lemon cream into the cooled tart shell. Top with fresh berries.