Lemon Tart Round Two

Having made deconstructed lemon tart, now is the time to make a proper lemon tart with...a tart base.

So good!

Biscuit crumbs cannot compare with a proper tart base.

Lemon Spongecake with Lemon Icing

Continuing with exploring desserts with lemon, we've decided to make a simple lemon spongecake. We followed this recipe very closely to make the spongecake and kept a very close eye on the cake. I took the cake out after 35 minutes; I think I could have taken it out at the 30 minutes mark.

Next up, make the lemon icing. For that, I use this recipe. The lemon that I used was big so I added too much lemon juice. The better way to do it is to drizzle in the lemon juice slowly while stirring until you get the consistency right. I saved the lemon icing by adding a bit more butter and a whole lot more icing.

Creame caramel

When you tried once and it is a success, what's more to tweak?

The recipe that I used was this.

There wasn't any real trick in making this if you follow the recipe closely. I cooked the caramel under low heat and it took a while for it to turn to this maple colour. I am not sure if I can cook it at higher heat but I am okay with taking more time to let the colour develop.



One thing to note, when the caramel colour began to develop, it comes fast so you need to pay really close attention at the first sign of change in colour.

The next trick is to determine the doneness. Again, I have to rely on these words "until the custard has set". I am not sure what that means so I relied on my instinct. The custard was, how should I say, slightly jiggly when I took it out after checking it a few times and setting the timer for another 2 minutes, another 2 minutes, a another 2 minutes.



You would never know how it would turn out until you flip it over. The custard was smooth and the center was still custardy.

Now the real trick is to replicate this.

Lemon Tart (Tart Eu Citron)

Deconstructed lemon tart to be precise.

I am scared of making a tart because of the complication so I decided to make a tart-less tart. Since I need the crunch, I decided to use digestive biscuits.

The recipe for the filling that I used is this. 

I made three lemon tarts.

First tart: Make the digestive bottom based on this recipe, which was not pre-baked. The tart was overbaked. I misjudged what "wobbly in the center" mean. The sourness and sweetness were balanced but I did not get the silky filling. The digestive biscuit bottom was completely soggy. Not crunch.

Second tart: Repeat the above. Baked the digestive biscuits on a side until crispy brown colour. I omitted the sugar from the digestive biscuits. Didn't need that much sugar in my diet. I also reduce the sugar from the filling. Bad mistake. I misjudged "wobbly in the center" again and this time I underbaked. The tart was too sour. I also over-zested.

Third tart: I cut the ingredients of the filling by half. I used 3 eggs and slightly more heavy cream. I didn't overzest, I used the right amount of sugar. Baked the digestive biscuits on the side. The tart was set at around 16 minutes point, which was when I took it out. I thought I overbaked because the center was quite set.

But this was what I got...