Lemon tart with blueberries

As promised, Kaja has put together the recipe for lemon tart with blueberries. There’s just one thing… she hasn’t sent an introduction. What am I supposed to write about a tart I haven’t even tasted? I hardly ever eat dessert, after all.

I even held back yesterday when Jacek was having pavlova at Gessler’s. He was supposed to share, but the slice was so modest in size that Jacek suddenly didn’t feel like sharing. So take heed: if you want pavlova at Warszawa Wschodnia, order two straight away. Worth it!

So, given how little I know about desserts, all I can say is that this recipe is definitely worthy of Children’s Day and every good mum, or good dad for that matter, ought to bake their little one a treat like this.

Speaking of Children’s Day, a friend told me a good joke the other day. An exceptionally surreal one.

It went like this:

A magpie is sitting in a pine tree. A cow walks up to the tree. The magpie looks down and sees the cow starting to climb the pine. There she is grappling with the trunk with her little hooves, or whatever it is cows have. Quite some time goes by. The magpie watches in disbelief as the cow finally makes it up and sits down beside her on the branch. The magpie asks:

“Hey, cow, what are you doing up here?”

“I came up to eat some cherries.”

The magpie taps the side of her little head and says, embarrassed:

“Oh, you silly cow. This is a pine tree. There aren’t any cherries here.”

The cow replies cheerfully:

“I know. I brought mine in a jar.”

Curtain!

Yes, that cow certainly has a lot of the charm of a child, of childhood. As do we all, come to think of it. Don’t forget it. All the best!

Now get cracking on that lemon and blueberry tart. I recommend it!

At a glance: 

Prep time: about 2 hours in all.

Oven temperature: 180 degrees Celsius

Baking time: 15–17 minutes

Serves: easily cuts into 8–10 slices.

Calories: lots, unfortunately. This isn’t lemon sorbet.

Ingredients for a fantastic lemon tart:

        For the shortcrust pastry:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons of 18% sour cream
• a glassful of icing sugar
• 2 glassfuls of flour
• 200 g cold butter
• grated zest of 2 lemons (wash them very thoroughly. Modest Amaro would have you scald them first. – God, Kaja, do you always have to slip Modest in somewhere? – note from PrymitywnaKuchnia.pl)

For the lemon filling:

• juice of 8 lemons
• grated zest of 2 lemons (as above)
• a glassful of sugar
• a tablespoon of vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 250 ml whipping cream (30 or 36 per cent fat)
• 5 eggs 

Method (tart this, tart that):

Start with the pastry. Mine’s the lazy version. Put all the ingredients in a food processor (cut the butter into smaller pieces with a knife first) and blitz. The dough should soon come together into a ball. If it’s too wet, add more flour. If it’s too dry, add a little cold water.

Take the ball out and put it between two sheets of baking paper. Roll it into a circle, then transfer it to a tart tin. If yours is non-stick with a removable base, there’s no need to line it. Press the pastry evenly into the tin, neaten the sides and pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15–17 minutes, until lightly browned. For the first 12 minutes I put baking paper and beans on the pastry (dried beans to keep the sides from slumping), then I take them off and finish baking it so it browns.

Let the baked shell cool a little, for at least 40 minutes. You can also bake it the day before.

Whisk the filling ingredients together in a bowl, pour into the pastry shell right up to the edge and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius on the middle shelf. Let the tart cool after baking so that it sets properly. You’ll notice the filling is still quite wobbly, like custard, straight out of the oven.

Scatter the washed blueberries over the cooled tart. Of course you can use your favourite fruit, dust it with icing sugar or flaked almonds, or decorate it with whipped cream. It’s just as good without any extras, though! All done. Enjoy!