1 TARTE FINE AU CITRON [classic lemon tart]
Learn with Michel Roux Jr
STYLING: WEI TANG
PHOTOGRAPHS: DAN JONES. FOOD STYLING: KATY MCCLELLAND.
In this new series I’m going to show you how to nail traditional French desserts. To me, they’re comfort food – the ultimate pleasure – but these desserts aren’t easy to get right. The techniques have been perfected over the years and you need to practise them – but my know-how will help guide you.
I grew up with lemon tart. My father and uncle served it in their restaurants – this one is originally my uncle’s recipe.
I remember mountains of lemons being squeezed by young pastry chefs and I ate loads of the resulting tarts – probably to the point where I shouldn’t want to see another one – but I love them. Lemon tart has a little sharpness, sweetness and goes wonderfully with berries or just on its own.
The texture should be creamy, like a light flan. The pastry has to have a light touch but be firm enough to hold the mix and be cooked all the way through. As Mary Berry says, you don’t want a soggy bottom.
Although this wonderful dessert is now on almost every restaurant menu, it’s still special. Maybe people don’t realise its origin and who started that lemon tart revolution. Back in the late Sixties, Uncle Michel put it on the menu and the rest is history…