Tuesdays with Dorie: The Lemon Cream Tart That Never Was

See that photo?  You have to pretend there’s a piece of lemon cream tart on that plate.  Instead of just a spoonful of lemon cream.  C’mon, just use your imagination.

It’s not that Dorie Greenspan’s lemon cream tart recipe failed or sucked or anything like that.  The lemon cream was just too good.  It never made it into the tart shell.  Fine, I never made a tart shell.  But even if I had, it never would have made it in there.  So, I’d like to pretend there was something fancy going on in that picture, but, really, it was just me spooning out lemon cream from a mixing bowl and eating raspberries by the handful with no plate involved. 

So much for making a good impression with my first Tuesdays with Dorie post. 

Since I failed to make the assigned recipe because I was too cheap/lazy to spring for a madeleine pan, and then failed to make, in its entirety, the substitute recipe, I think it’s safe to say that things aren’t off to a fantastic start.  And that’s pretty much how it’s going to continue until I get kicked out of the club.

But, damn, that was good lemon cream.  Here’s the recipe if you’re interested.  If it seems like a lot of butter, it is.  I don’t want to think about how many sticks of the stuff I consumed in less than 24 hours, but the good news is this.  The lemon curd, before you whip in the butter, is also outstanding.  Tart and addictive, and I already have some plans for it.

Lemon Cream
Like lemon curd except the butter gets whipped in at the end to a silky, emulsified finish. 

1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into Tbsp.-sized pieces

Have an instant-read or candy thermometer, and a blender with a strainer resting on top at the ready.  Bring a medium pot half-full of water to a boil. 

Find a large metal mixing bowl that can be set on top of the pot without the bottom touching the water.  Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic.  Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

Once the water is boiling, set the bowl on top of the pan and whisk quickly.  When it starts to get hot, insert the thermometer.  Keep whisking vigorously (so the eggs don’t scramble) until the mixture thickens and the temperature reaches 180°F (between 5 and 10 minutes).  Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the strainer over the blender, a bit at a time, using a rubber scraper to push it through.  Discard the zest.  Let the cream sit in the blender bowl for 10 minutes to cool a bit. 

Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time.  Scrape down the sides as needed.  Once all the butter is in, blend the cream for another 3 minutes.  Pour cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  When you’re ready to use it, just whisk the cream a bit to loosen it.  You can use it as a tart filling, a cake filling, on toast, over fruit, or straight out of the bowl like yours truly.
Source: Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours and Pierre Hermé.

Comments

[Tammy]

Hmmmm, why does that picture look like crap? No time to fix it, though.

[Flood]

Shut it. That picture looks sexy as hell.

Er, what I mean is, yes, your picture is horrible. Give me the plate and we'll call it good.

[Rebecca]

Welcome to TWD! We don't kick anyone out who expresses the appropriate amount of gluttony. Check! ;)

[Adele]

Lemon cream and raspberries?

I'd forgive you if you didn't bother with the tart.

[Bridget]

Hmm, I have to say that eating it with a spoon is probably the best use of the lemon cream I can think of. Why dilute all of that goodness with a tart crust?

[gillie]

Straight from the bowl sounds just perfect to me!

[CB]

oooohhhh yeah... that tart was so good. Its one of my favorites. I understand why you never made it to the shell but if you get the chance to make again definitely give it a try! Welcome to TWD!
Clara @ I♥food4thought

[Alecto]

Ours very rarely makes it to the tart either. I actually have one last jar of lemon curd canned from last Christmas that I'm going to have to open soon. My guess? Spoons and fruit.

[heather]

LOL! I nearly did the same thing! What little bit that did get in the tart shell got scrapped out and eaten by itself when I ate it. Welcome to the group!

[Dad]

Loved it!!!

[Jayne]

Wow - thanks to linking to my site! I really like your picture - and I agree with Bridget above - eating it with a spoon IS the best use for the lemon cream!! Welcome to TWD!!

[Jaime]

ha! i loved the cream too. you really should try it in the tart, it's amazing!

beautiful photo.... of lemon cream ;)

[mari]

Welcome aboard, I think for one, that you're off to a fabulous start, because you made me laugh my butt off! That lemon cream really is the bee's knees, and you can't stop once you taste it. It's EVIL-GOOD!

[Tammy]

Mari: Hey, thanks! Evil is right.

Jaime: Someday. At least I made just the cream instead of just the tart shell. An empty tart shell would look even more pathetic.

Jayne: Your welcome. I enjoyed the pictures of your kids cooking!

Dad: Wow. Love? Really? Maybe I'll start making you more stuff.

Heather: I bet you and I have a lot in common.

Alecto: Love, love, love lemon curd. Enjoy.

Clara: I'm sure I'll be making this one again!

Gillie: Who am I trying to impress, anyway?

Bridget: Exactly what I was thinking.

Adele: Thanks for understanding.

Rebecca: Excellent! I'm an overachiever where gluttony is concerned.

Flood: Typepad, with its fancy new composition settings that I haven't mastered, yet, was messing with me and my pictures. It's better now, but it was reeeaaallly pissing me off. Now, if I can just figure out the paragraph spacing issue, maybe I can stop being so anal. Or not.

[Cindy]

Sorry I don’t have any great recipes to offer. What I do have is an inexpensive gadget that’s made shopping for my family’s groceries so much easier. After all- before the recipe-we all need to get our groceries home. It’s a strong plastic handle that I use to carry all my grocery shopping bags to my car, then to my apartment in one trip. It’s called a Baggy Buddy. You can learn more at BaggyBuddy.com. I highly recommend it.

[Lemon Tartlet]

Don't worry, we ain't kicking you out sugah! The first TWD for me I managed to insult the recipe and the outcome and turn the cake pink. It ain't right what I put these poor recipes through.

Love your blog!