Tuesday, April 8, 2008

LOVE ME SOME LEMONS




Well, there she is. My Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, the selection from Tuesday with Dorie this week. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Mary for picking this one. I absolutely needed something spring-like! And I swear as soon as I baked this the neverending rain ceased here in Ohio and the sun finally made a showing!
I must confess though that nice weather equals bad blogger (shame on me). The Harley has been waiting patiently for months now and there is no way we couldn't ride this past weekend. So, we ended up cruising around all day and even ended up witnessing a wedding in a biker bar (yep, ceremony and all). The groom had on his best Harley shirt and Levi's. We didn't even know them, but my karaoke rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" will surely be one of their fondest wedding memories.........ah, I love weddings!
So, I finally got around to making my tart Sunday evening. I really didn't have many expectations, since I have never really liked or disliked lemon. But as soon as my grater hit that first lemon, I was hooked. Ahhh, that smell (ooh, great Skynard song!).
The crust was a snap to make in the processor. I chose to replace some of the flour with hazelnuts and that proved to be my first good choice. It baked up beautifully and had a wonderful shortbread-like texture. The only annoying part of this recipe is whisking the lemon cream to exactly 180 degrees. But I stayed true to the recipe and my filling turned out perfectly. I ended up topping it off with some cream and blackberries.
Extraordinary is a great was to describe this recipe. The cream was so lush and citric. The crust outstanding. Put it all together---amen! I'll make this again. Maybe next time with key limes:)
RECIPE TO BE POSTED
OH!!!! By the way, I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow and the hubby and I said no laptops, no cell phones. So you will have to miss me for a week. I will have to bow out of the next Tuesdays with Dorie. See you next Wednesday! And mom don't forget to water the herbs in the windowsill!




















































12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Streeeet lights, peeeepuhuhuhullll!" What a yummy tart. Come back with more tales of adventure!

Marie Rayner said...

Your tart looks wonderful! I love the blackberry touch! I chose to make the orange version and it was truly delicious even if it didn't turn out exactly like I had envisioned!

LyB said...

Really nice, not a lot of people thought about blackberries, very nice touch!

Mary said...

glad you enjoyed the recipe and it's symbolic spring-like experience! Your cream looks delicious and perfectly thick!

Mari said...

Looking good!

Natalie said...

When the bike calls, you just have to go with it... Great job, and lovely presentation!

Anonymous said...

Yours looks lovely with the blackberry. I used white chocolate as a garnish because it needed something to finish it off. Great job!

Gretchen Noelle said...

Hazelnuts sound delicious with this! Great idea! Blackberries & cream look lovely! Hope you have a great time away!

Anonymous said...

hahahaha! LOVE the biker story (and Journey)!

CB said...

Biker baking chick! love it! Miss you next Tuesday but have a great trip! :)
Clara @ I♥food4thought

Anonymous said...

I love that song!

Your pie looks great! Glad you enjoyed it.

Marcy Goldman said...

Really great blog
marcy goldman