Lemon and Blackberry Tart
Here we go again, another fancy-sounding dessert that I’m giving a long description of how to make, but this one is quite good. This tasty tart features a hazelnut pastry crust, a lemon curd filling, and a set blackberry curd filling, all of which are both easy to make and can give you delicious results.
I don’t see the need for a long introduction, so let’s just jump right into the recipe!
Serves 8
Difficulty: Intermediate
Total time: 4 hours
For the Crust:
50g blanched hazelnuts
150g flour
75g powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g cold unsalted butter
1 egg, separated
For the lemon curd filling:
2 1/2 lemons, zested and juiced
75g sugar
85ml heavy cream
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
For the blackberry curd filling:
400g blackberries
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tablespoon unflavored gelatin powder
75g sugar
1 egg
2 egg yolks
80g cubed unsalted butter
For garnish:
Candied lemon slices (opt)
Candied hazelnuts (opt)
7 blackberries
Make the Crust
Dump the hazelnuts into a food processor, and pulse until finely ground.
Add the flour, powdered sugar and salt, then pulse to combine, then add the cold butter and pulse 6-8 times until the butter is broken down to pea-sized cubes.
Add the yolk of the separated egg and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Pulse until the mixture has a loose, crumbly texture, adding a bit more water if needed. Dump the dough into a sheet of plastic wrap, then use the wrap to bring the dough crumbles together and form a disc. Chill the dough for 1/2-1 hour.
Once chilled, roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness, then press it into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform cake pan or tart shell. Make sure you really press on the sides of the shell to help ensure the dough doesn’t slide down the sides of the pan as it bakes.
Trim any excess dough, then chill for another 30 minutes, or until the dough is firm.
Blind Bake the Crust
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Line the dough with foil and fill it with dried beans, rice, or ceramic baking stones. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are brown. Then, carefully remove the weight and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is dry.
Brush the egg white onto the crust and then bake for another minute, doing this will help protect the crust from the wet filling. Once baked, remove from the oven and decrease the temperature to 325 F.
Make the Lemon Curd Filling
Measure 100ml of lemon juice and pour it into a mixing bowl along with the lemon zest, sugar, cream, eggs, and egg yolk.
Whisk to combine, then pour into the baked crust. Carefully move the filled tart back into the oven and bake for another 14-16 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are firm but the center is slightly jiggly. Set aside to cool then remove the edge of the springform pan.
Make the Blackberry Curd Filling
Combine the blackberries and lemon juice in a saucepan, then cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the berries are very soft and have released their juices. Pass the blackberry mush through a strainer to extract all of the juice and pulp, discarding the seeds.
Return the juice back to the heat, then let it reduce to about 200ml.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin powder onto a small bowl of cold water so it can bloom and activate.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, and egg yolks until combined, then slowly add the hot blackberry juice to temper.
Pour that back into the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is very thick. Add the bloomed gelatin and butter, then stir until the gelatin is dissolved and the butter is melted.
Pour the blackberry curd onto the lemon curd, being careful not to let the two fillings mix, cover the blackberry curd directly with plastic wrap then chill for at least 2 hours, or until it’s set.
Decorate
Use a knife to trim away any bits of crust on the edge that may have gotten a bit too dark on you, nobody has to know that they were there.
Top the tart with the candied lemon slices and candied hazelnuts (if using). Place one blackberry in the center of the tart, then cut the other 6 in half and place them on top as decorative as you’d like.
Slice and enjoy!
