Baking with Dorie: Extraordinary Lemon Cream Tart

I've been traveling and haven't had a chance to write, so I'll catch up on things soon, but I didn't want you to miss this week's Baking with Dorie Recipe at Serious Eats.  It's for my favorite, favorite lemon cream, a recipe from Pierre Herme, and I hope you enjoy it.

More soon -- I'm off to catch another plane.

Comments

[Barbara Rosenberg]

I made this for my book group, had trouble getting to temp but it looked right. I lined the shell w. chocolate ganache and served it with a little raspberry coulis and a couple of raspberries. They loved it, and the person who only eats one bite ate all of the filling and a little crust. The rest, who are usually quite genteel, fought over her leavings!

[Steve]

Is everyone making sure their thermometers are calibrated? Just a thought for those having trouble with the 180 degree goal.

[Steve]

Dorie, just made the lemon tart today to serve tomorrow. I go back to it time and time again for a rich and elegant -- if decadent -- version of one of my favorite desserts.

[Dana]

I made this (in addition to one of your pumpkin pies) last Thanksgiving, and it was amazing! SOO rich and buttery--in fact when I ate it I smelled more butter than lemon! My dad, a huge fan of anything lemon, really enjoyed it!

[Anna C. S.]

Sorry to post again, but I forgot to say something. That's me, I guess.

Lindsey, the same thing happened to me - I couldn't get the cream, which was quite thick, to get past 165. I was reluctant to push the stove to full blast, as I was already using the power burner, but I had it at least on medium with a good 7 inches of water. And I was definitely whisking like crazy. But so long as the mixture was thick and relatively close to 180, I figured I was fine.

[Anna C. S.]

I've actually been looking for a good sauce/pudding-like recipe for the lemons I have, and I realized to look towards Dorie. I was going to look in the book if I didn't find it here, but I did.

I'm making just the lemon cream for, well, nothing, I suppose eating it with a spoon, just because it looked so good and I've been looking for the opportunity to use a sort of double boiler technique. It really is a brilliant recipe, and I am so excited to taste it cold. Of course, I didn't wait to try a bit of it. It's probably better cold though.

[DoughGirl]

Mmm...lemon cream...I bet this would be wonderful in mini-tarts!

[Lindsey]

Thanks, Dorie! That really helped.

[jean]

Dorie,
The last time I was in Paris I stayed very near Laduree on Rue Jacob and happily discovered their lemon tarts. This recipe might very well replicate the delicious filling they used which I knew was not a simple lemon curd as I had prepared it before. I will definitely have to try this version, especially as the tart shell is not a requirement, merely a spoon! Thanks so much for the recipe. Jean

[Shirley]

I've made this before, and it is divine! I made them as little tartlets, and my friends were wowed. That lemon cream is sinful.

[dorie]

Ivonne, you are such a lovely baker that I'm sure your Easter tart was beautiful.

Desolee, Isabelle. I'm very happy to know that you are in Quebec and sharing my recipes with Francophones. Merci mille fois.

[isabelle]

dorie
je ne suis pas en France, mais au Québec...Je publie vos recettes en Français sur mon blog, pour que les francophones puissent mieux vous connaitre, ainsi que vos excellentes recettes :)

[Ivonne]

Hey! Imade this for Easter and it was delicious!

[dorie]

It's so, so great that this fabulous lemon cream has so many fans. Thank you for writing.

Eileen and Magpie, I hope you'll make the cream over the weekend.

Lindsey, about not being able to reach 180 degrees F. I'm not quite sure why with abundant water and high heat, the temperature of the cream wouldn't mount, but as long as you get the cream to 165, as you did, you're fine. The temperature usually given for creme anglaise, and this cream is in the creme anglaise family (kind of) is 165 to 170 degrees F. The French pastry chefs like to push it to 180, and sometimes a few degrees higher, but if your cream is really thick, you'll be okay. After all your work, I'm soooooooooooo glad you liked the cream.

Laurie, as I mentioned in my comment at Serious Eats, I send in my week's recipe in advance and the serious eaters post it on Thursday, so it was a coincidence that I chose this recipe and so did the wonderful bakers at Tuesdays with Dorie. I really, really hope that everyone is going to love this cream as much as I do.

Maria, I remember when you made the lemon cream tartlets with your father for your brother's wedding --
I still have the pictures you sent me. And, as I've said, I'm so happy that this recipe will be part of your wedding, too.

Alice, your comment made me smile.

Merci, Isabelle. J'adore qu'il y a une petite branche de Tuesdays with Dorie en France. Je suis heureuse comme tout que vous aimiez la creme.

[Eileen]

Simple yet elegant. And I can only imagine how wonderful it tastes!

[magpie]

Mmm... I've recently been loving lemons.

[Lindsey (Cafe Johnsonia)]

Hi, Dorie! I'm a huge fan. I recently joined the TWD group. And I had a question for you--

Several members of the group had trouble getting the lemon cream up to 180 degrees. I've never had trouble with any of your recipes before, so I'm left to assume it was me. Any tips on what I may have done wrong?

The cream got up to about 165 degrees or so and it was very thick after all that whisking I did. It took me nearly 45 minutes to even get the temp that high.

Was I whisking too much? I had the flame on my stove going full blast and I added more water to the pan several times. I'm really stumped.

Help?

By the way, I will be forever in your debt for this recipe. I've never tasted anything like it in my life.

Thank you!

[laurie]

This was the recipe choice for TWD this week, too! How cool is that!?!

[Maria]

This is my favorite lemon dessert! We made these lemon tarts for my brother's wedding last May and we will be doing them again for my wedding in June. I can't wait! The lemon cream is fabulous! I can eat it plain but of course it is better in a tart shell with fruit on top! YUM!! Thanks Dorie! I hope you had a safe flight.

[alice]

mmmmmmmmmmm. love it! xox

[isabelle]

je l'ai fait pour publier mardi prochain, car c'est le prochain défi des TWD....je n'ai jamais mangé quelque chose d'aussi bon...je suis complètement bluffée !