Blueberry Lemon Tart - Seasonal Recipe

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Blueberry Lemon Tart

🌍 Seasonal, Summer Difficulty: ●●●○○


Lemon curd became popular in Britain in the 19th century as a spread for scones and sandwiches at afternoon tea; it migrated into tart shells in the early 20th century as a pastry-shop staple.

Ingredients

  • 250g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 85g (⅔ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
  • 140g (⅝ cup) cold butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2–3 tbsp ice water
  • 3 whole eggs + 3 yolks
  • 150g (¾ cup) superfine sugar
  • Zest of 3 lemons
  • 120ml (½ cup) fresh lemon juice
  • 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 350g (2½ cups) fresh blueberries
  • 2 tbsp blueberry jam or currant jelly, warmed (for glaze)

Method

  1. Making — Make pastry: pulse flour, powdered sugar, and butter until sandy. Add egg yolk and ice water; pulse just until dough comes together. Press into a 25cm (10 in) tart pan. Freeze 20 minutes.
  2. Blind-baking — Blind-bake at 180°C (350°F) with weights for 15 minutes; remove weights, bake 10 minutes more until pale gold. Cool.
  3. Making — Make curd: whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, zest, and juice in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water. Stir constantly until thick enough to coat a spoon, 8–12 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in butter piece by piece until smooth. Strain.
  4. Pouring — Pour warm curd into cooled shell. Refrigerate 2–3 hours until set.
  5. Arranging — Arrange blueberries in concentric circles on top. Brush with warmed jam glaze. Refrigerate until serving.