Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 360 gm eggs (about 8)
  • 15 gm (about ½) egg yolk, white reserved for brushing
  • 280 gm caster sugar
  • 240 gm crème fraîche
  • 200 ml lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
  • 250 gm plain flour
  • 150 gm unsalted chilled butter, diced
  • 30 gm pure icing sugar, sieved, plus extra (optional) for dusting
  • Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 1 egg (55gm), lightly whisked

Instruction

  • For pastry, process flour, butter, icing sugar and lemon rind in a food processor until coarse crumbs form.
  • Add egg and ½ tbsp water and pulse until pastry dough forms a ball.
  • Form pastry into a disc of about 14cm diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 175C. Roll pastry out on a lightly floured bench to a round 4mm thick and 35cm wide.
  • Lightly prick pastry with a fork.
  • Trim the pastry to a 35cm round and place in a 24cm-diameter, 3cm-deep fluted tart tin with a removable base, leaving pastry hanging over edges. Press pastry scraps into a ball and use this to press pastry case into the edges of the tin. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Line pastry case with foil, fill with chickpeas or ceramic pie weights and blind-bake until pastry is cooked through (35 minutes). Remove chickpeas and foil, reduce oven to 150C and bake until pastry is golden brown and crisp (10-15 minutes).
  • Patch any holes or cracks using small thin pieces of pastry. Lightly whisk eggwhite and brush sparingly over inside of tart case. Return to oven for 2 minutes, then set aside to cool.
  • Leave oven at 150C. Whisk eggs and yolk lightly to break up. Add sugar and stir with a whisk until sugar starts to dissolve and mixture is glossy and syrup-like (4-5 minutes). Set aside, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved (about 35 minutes). Whisk crème fraîche in a large bowl with a little of the egg mixture to just loosen. Add lemon juice to egg mixture, then add crème fraîche a little at a time. Set aside while pastry cools.
  • When pastry is cooled, skim foam off the top of lemon mixture, then strain into a jug. Half-fill the tart case with lemon mixture, then place tart on an oven shelf, ensuring it's level. Fill to the rim with remaining filling (you may have a little left over). Bake until the tart is set but with a little wobble in the centre (about 30 minutes).
  • Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes, then trim overhanging crust.
  • Cool tart in tin for 2 hours, then carefully remove from tin. Serve dusted with icing sugar.