Sicilian Lemon Tart

Pastry
• 250g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75g of icing sugar, sifted
• 180g of unsalted butter, chilled
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg, beaten

Lemon filling
• 5 lemons, preferably Amalfi lemons
• 300g of caster sugar
• 300g of unsalted butter, chilled
• 6 eggs
• 9 egg yolks

To serve
• créme fraiche

Method

Begin by making the pastry. Blitz the flour, sugar and butter together in a food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and blitz again for 10 seconds to combine, then transfer the mixture to a bowl and bring together by hand to form a dough. Cover the bowl with cling film and transfer to the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the lemons for the filling. Grate the zest from all 5 lemons into a bowl and set aside, then juice the lemons into a separate bowl. Measure out 150ml of the lemon juice and discard the rest along the with the squeezed lemons.

Once rested, lightly dust a clean surface with flour and evenly roll out the pastry. Press the pastry into the tart tin and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

Once rested, place a piece of baking parchment on top of the pastry and fill with baking beans. Blind bake the tart case in the oven for 15–20 minutes until golden in colour, then remove the paper and baking beans and continue to bake for a further 5 minutes.

Remove the tart case from the oven and, using the beaten egg as an egg wash, brush the pastry evenly all over to seal. Return to the oven to bake for a final five minutes, then set aside and leave to cool a little.

To make the filling, combine the lemon zest and juice, butter and sugar in a large, heavy-based pan and place over a low heat. Gently melt the butter, stirring well until the sugar has fully dissolved.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolks until well combined. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the custard mixture thickens – take care not to let the custard boil as this will cause the eggs to curdle. Pour the filling into the tart case and lightly shake the tin to create a smooth, even surface.

Turn on the grill to its highest setting and, once hot, place the tart under it and allow to cook until the surface begins to lightly char, rotating occasionally if your grill is a little uneven. You may need to cover the edges of your tart with foil to stop the pastry burning. Once the top of the tart is charred and blistered, set aside to cool then place in the fridge to set for two hours.

To serve, cut into even slices using a hot knife and serve with a generous scoop of crème fraiche.