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cookingwithmykids

Lemon tartlets

These mini lemon tartlets are a delicious tangy little desserts. A buttery shortcrust pastry with a zingy lemon filling, they're perfect for an afternoon tea and surprisingly easy to make.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
chilling time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 493
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the pastry
  • 175 g plain flour
  • 100 g cold butter
  • 25 g icing sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
For the filling
  • 4 eggs
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 4 lemons zest and juice
  • Fruit to serve optional

Equipment

  • Digital scales
  • Measuring cups
  • Palette knife
  • Loose bottomed tartlet tins / mini tart tins
  • Wire rack

Method
 

Make the pastry
  1. Measure out the flour and add it to a large mixing bowl. Or if you have a food processor you can use that instead.
  2. Measure out the butter, then cut it into small pieces before adding that to your mixing bowl. Using your finger tips rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
    Alternatively use your food processor to blitz the butter and sugar together.
  3. Add the sugar and mix it in.
  4. Next, separate the egg yolk and the egg white.
    We find the easiest way of doing it is to crack the egg and split it open, then we tip the egg yolk between each half of the shell, letting the egg white fall into a small bowl below. When you’re left with just the egg yolk, add that to your mixing bowl.
  5. Mix everything together, either using a spatula, or by pulsing your food processor until it starts to come together. If you need to, add up to 1 tablespoon of cold water to help bring it all together.
  6. Tip it on to a lightly floured work surface then knead it very briefly so it stops crumbling and comes together in a nice ball. As soon as it comes together, stop working it as you don’t want to over mix it.
  7. Wrap the pastry in cling film / glad wrap and pop it in the fridge to rest for 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180C / 170C Fan / 350F and grease 6 fluted 10cm round tartlet tins with oil or butter.
    Make the pastry tartlet cases
    1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out until it is around 3-4 mm thick.
    2. When you’re rolling it out, turn it 90 degrees between rolls to stop it from sticking to your work top and to ensure you get an even roll.
      To stop the pastry from tearing when it's bigger and thinner, roll it around your rolling pin before rotating it. That should support it and stop it from tearing.
    3. Cut out 6 circles around 1-2 cm larger than the size of your tartlet tins. If you have a large cookie cutter, that's an easy way of doing it. We didn't so just marked round the tartlet tin with a knife.
    4. Press the pastry into each tartlet tin.Use a spare piece of pastry to push the pastry into the edges. Don't worry if there's still some hanging over the edges. The pastry will shrink a little in the oven, so you want there to be a little too much. We'll neaten it up later.
    5. Re-roll any excess pastry and cut out more cases until you've made all six.
    6. Pop the pastry cases in the fridge for another 10 minutes or so.
    Blind bake the tartlet cases
    1. Line your tarlet cases with baking or parchment paper. If you scrunch it up before you put it in your tin, it will fit into the edges more easily.
    2. Set your cases on a baking tray then fill them with baking beans, rice, lentils or anything else dry and heavy and bake your empty cases for 7 minutes.
    3. Take them out the oven and carefully remove baking beans and baking paper.
    4. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and return the pastry cases to the oven for another 5-7 minutes until they are golden and dry.
    5. Turn the oven down to 170C /150C Fan / 340F
    Make the lemon tart filling
    1. While the cases are baking, make the lemon tart filling. Start breaking the eggs and add them to a large mixing bowl.
      Give the eggs a wee whisk with a hand held whisk, then add the cream, and sugar.
    2. Finally add the lemon juice and zest.
    Bake the lemon tartlets
    1. Pour the lemon filling into your baked pastry cases. It can be easier to half fill them, then put them in the oven on their shelf before filling them to the top.
    2. Bake the tartlets for around 12 -15 minutes. They're ready when they're just set with a slight wobble in the middle.
    3. Remove them from the oven, and leave them in their cases for a few minutes to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle carefully remove them from their tins and leave them to cool on a wire rack fully.
    4. Decorate with fruit (optional) serve and enjoy.

    Notes

    If you find the pastry is sticking, you can roll it out on top of a sheet of baking paper and put another sheet in between the pastry and the rolling pin.