Green and Black's Lemon Tart

So, following a week of baking, what could be better than to spend the weekend baking?! 

Towards the end of the last year I went to the pub, and happily met someone else with the same passion for baking, and the same name! We decided therefore to do some experimental baking. Last time we met we successfully made swiss rolls and so decided to continue to expand our baking repertoire. Today we made lemon and chocolate tart from the Green & Blacks Organic Cookbook. We did our usual post-baking discussion and general analysis of our creation and decided that this was an interesting one.

It's an odd selection of tastes, and I think the mini one that we made with the leftover pastry probably tasted better. We used the same recipe, but there was less lemon as the edges of the pastry sank a bit and the middle rose a little when it was blind baked. As a result the bitterness of the lemon was more tempered by the sweetness of the chocolate and pastry. The larger tart is better at the edges where there is more pastry. Were I to make it again I think it would probably benefit from more sugar in the lemon. Somehow it got more bitter as it cooled, not sure why that would be though! 

So, here's the recipe (as far as I can remember, I must admit I didn't make a note of it). Due to time restraints (Hannah leaving for dancing) we only left the pastry for chill for a fairly short amount of time, and filled it while still warm. I'm not sure what difference it would make to leave it to cool completely but it seemed to work fine!

Chocolate pastry - quite tasty, needs the icing sugar though, otherwise it's quite bitter.

6oz plain flour

1oz cocoa

1oz icing sugar

4 1/2oz butter

1 egg yolk

2tbsp cold water

75g dark chocolate, grated.

1. Make breadcrumb-type mixture of cocoa, flour and icing sugar. 

2. Mix egg yolk and water and pour in to dry ingredients

3. Bring together to a dough, using that mixture, plus some extra water

4. Wrap in greaseproof paper and chill for 1 hour. 

5. Roll out and line tin, prick bottom and chill for 2 hours. 

6. Cover in foil and pour in beans, bake at 200C for 15 mins

7. Remove foil and cook for further 5 mins. 

8. Sprinkle 75g grated chocolate over base while still warm. 

9. Leave to cool.

Filling:

5oz caster sugar

3 lemons, zest and juice

4 eggs

150ml double cream

1. Finely grate zest, and squeeze lemons

2. Mix lemon zest and juice with caster sugar, whisk together until sugar dissolves

3. Add eggs and cream and mix until smooth. 

4. Pour into cooled pie crust and bake for 30-35 mins at 160C. 

5. Leave to cool, then sprinkle with icing sugar.

(Alternatively if making the mini version we blind baked the pastry with foil for 10 mins, then without for around 5 I think. Then sprinkle choc on as with larger version, leave to cool, pour in lemon filling and bake for 15 mins, and check is set firm)

And then, mmm, tasty goodness!