Lemon Tart of Love.

"This is not a quick tart, but it is a beautiful one, and Rome was not built in a day, so they say." Julia Child

From Julia Child's Kitchen page 505

I am so excited.

I bought my first book of Julia Child's this weekend.  As I turn through the battered book (it is delightfully second hand),  novel and beautiful food experiences are tumbling out of its pages before my very eyes.   I've now dabbled my little, tiny pinkie toe into a sea of wonder and delight, and can't wait to splash into this ocean of food, taste, aroma, and Julia's hilarious personality.

I-am-so-excited!!

I do, ever so slightly, feel like a food impostor, falling in love with Julia and other food bloggers.  As stated previously, I'm a food novice, and somewhat of a disaster in the kitchen.  In fact, I was just lamenting to my husband how I'm now actually taking it personally when guests of mine don't mention the food I've cooked for them in some form of a subtle compliment.  I had one of my very best girlfriends over the other night, and she didn't offer one "ohhhhh" or "ahhhhh" over my soup.  I was slightly devastated.

This food thing is really starting to get serious for me now, and I want to morph into a good foodie. Really good!  And Julia was really good at food, and, it appears, at life, and so she has become my latest hero.

This lemon tart is not Julia's.  Julia's lemon tart is full of apples (I know... AMAZING!) and glazed lemons on top (sigh), and will be attempted, mark my words, on this food blog at some point!  This lemon tart is from Katie Quinn Davies, otherwise known as the blogger from What Katie Ate.  AKA... food bloggers I've fallen in love with.

I didn't make this tart.  My glorious husband made it for me.  On his short trip home over this past weekend, he spent hours in the kitchen baking up this Lemon Tart of Love. And it is divine. Enjoy!

Lemon Tart of Love

From Katie Quinn Davies, excerpt out of Delicious Magazine (an Aussie rag)

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups of plain flour
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 125 grams chilled unsalted butter, chopped
• 5 eggs plus 2 extra yolks
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 300ml of thickened cream
• 1 and 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 125 grams punnet of blueberries

Directions

For the tart crust

• Combine flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor
• Then add butter, and whiz until fine crumbles
• Add 1 egg yolk and 1/4 cup of iced water, whiz until the mixture becomes a smooth ball
• Wrap dough in plastic and chill in fridge for 30 minutes
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) - grease tart pan 22cm or about 9.5 inches
• Roll the pastry out and place it in tart pan
• Blind bake it (place baking paper on top of dough, add rice or beans, and cook for 10 minutes, remove paper and rice/beans and cook for a further 3 minutes)

For the lemon filling

• Reduce oven to 270 degrees F (130 degrees C)
• Place 5 eggs, 1 yolk, lemon zest and juice, cream, and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan over low heat
• Stir until lukewarm and sugar has disolved
• Strain the mixture into a jug, and then pour the filling into the crust (tart shell)
• cook for 25 minutes - or until just set
• allow to cool completely

For the compote

• Place 1/2 cup sugar with vanilla pod and seeds, and 1/3 cup of water
• Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved, then pop up the heat to medium heat until the liquid become syrupy
• Add the berries, and cook until they start to release their juices
• You're done... ENJOY!