Lemon Tart with Almond Crust

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Lemon Tart with Almond Crust
A buttery almond pastry crust balances the flavor of the sweet, yet tart lemon filling. A beautiful dessert for Valentines Day, Easter, or any special occasion. Serve this delicious tart plain or with whipped cream, and garnished with lemon peel spirals.
Recipe type: Dessert | Custard Tart
Serves: 6 to 8
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Recipe Notes
Pan: One 9" Tart with Removeable Bottom Pastry: Almond Pastry Prep: Baked Starting Oven Temp: 400° Storage: Cover and Refrigerate

TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast, ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapenaccurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.
Ingredients
Almond Pastry:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup blanched almonds, toasted, and finely ground
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
  • ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
  • ¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare one 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom; lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with butter.
Almond Pastry:
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or, process in a food processor. Add almond extract and 2 tablespoons ice water. Stir until mixture holds together when pinched with your fingers. If pastry is too dry, add additional 1 tablespoon ice water.
  2. Press pastry evenly into tart pan, patting pastry evenly over bottom and up the sides, flush with the rim of the pan.
  3. Bake: Place the pastry lined tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until very light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire cooling rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Filling:
  1. In a medium heavy saucepan over low heat, combine sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and butter. Cook and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until butter is melted and mixture is thickened, about 7 to 8 minutes or registers 170 degrees using a candy or instant read thermometer to gauge the temperature. Remove from heat.
  2. Immediately pour hot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to strain out the lemon zest and any pieces of cooked egg; pour into baked tart crust.
  3. Bake: Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Tip: filling will still be loose and jiggly after baking but will firm as it cools.
  4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Lemon Blueberry Cheese Tart

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Lemon Blueberry Cheese Tart
Fresh summer blueberries sit atop a luscious lemon cream cheese filling, making this a colorful and wonderful dessert. The pastry is made with ground almonds and brown sugar, and then partially baked before adding the cream cheese filling. The tart is chilled, and then covered with fresh blueberries that have been glazed with red currant jelly.
Recipe type: Dessert | Cream Tart | Fruit Tart
Serves: 6 to 8
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Recipe Notes
Pan: One 9" Tart with Removeable Bottom Pastry: Brown Sugar Almond Pastry Prep: Baked Starting Oven Temp: 375° Storage: Cover and Refrigerate

TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast, ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapenaccurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Almond Pastry:
  • ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted, and finely ground
  • ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
Lemon Cheese Filling:
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Topping:
  • 1½ to 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • ½ cup red currant jelly
Instructions
Brown Sugar Almond Pastry:
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground almonds, brown sugar, flour, and salt. With a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or, process in a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir until dough comes together.
  2. Press pastry evenly into one 9 or 9½ inch tart pan with a removable bottom, patting pastry evenly over bottom and up the sides, allowing pastry to extend ⅛ to ¼ inch above the top of the pan to allow for shrinkage. Lightly prick the bottom and sides with a fork at three-fourth or one inch intervals. Place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate tart shell until firm, at least 30 minutes.
  3. While tart shell is refrigerating, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, allowing 15 to 20 minutes for the oven to preheat before baking.
  4. Bake: Place the pastry lined tart pan on a baking sheet, and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until very light golden brown. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
Lemon Cheese Filling:
  1. While pastry is baking, prepare filling.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon until smooth. Add sugar, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat until mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into the still hot pastry.
  3. Bake: Return pan to oven and bake 20 minutes or until the center is almost set but still slightly wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Topping:
  1. Rinse and dry blueberries, place in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
  2. Place the jelly in a microwave-safe bowl, heat using 50% power and stir frequently just until the jelly is warmed and melted. Pour warm jelly over blueberries; stir until well mixed.
  3. Spoon the blueberry topping evenly over the chilled tart. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.
  4. To serve, remove the sides of the tart pan, place the tart on a serving plate.