eclaire (what’s in a) name?

when i received a beautiful tart pan for my birthday this year (thanks, mom!), i decided that i had to utilize the new present and try my hand at tart making – something i’ve never tried before and frankly intimidated me a little bit. at about the same time, a coworker lent me a lunches, picnics & appetizers version of the tassajara cookbook, and while thumbing through the pages i found a lemon tart recipe that spoke of being the best of all lemon bar recipes, but reinvented into a tart. (i have to give credit to my talented husband for the gorgeous pic above, and while i’m at it, he also gets credit for about half the pictures on this website.)

i absolutely love lemon bars and figured that this would be a perfect way to ease my way into the art of tart baking – because how can you go wrong with lemons, butter, and sugar?

so, i put a bookmark into the cookbook and waited for the right time – ideally when people would come over to help consume the delicacy – and the right time presented itself last weekend, when some friends stopped by to watch the olympics. as i embarked upon my tart-making journey on the sunny saturday afternoon, i was repeatedly impressed by the simplicity of the tart recipe. the sweet and salty crust didn’t call for cutting in the butter with a pastry blender, so i simply used my hands to combine all the ingredients

i was also amazed that the tart crust doesn’t require rolling out like a pie crust, just pressing! my hands are almost always run hot, and i’ve ruined many a pie crust with rolling it out and handling it too much with my warm hands, melting the butter and winding up with a complete mess. this crust lends itself to warm hands, as it’s a little crumbly, so i used my innate qualities to push the dough into the edges of the pan.

the lemon filling was just as easy to put together as the crust, and i was completely delighted with the ease of creating this tart as well as the way the finished product’s sugar, salt, and citrus flavors combined into a light lemony trifecta in every bite.

the only problem with the recipe is that i reduced the quantities to 3/4 of the original recipe to fit into my tart pan (the initial recipe was created for a 9×13), and i think i should have made all of the filling. since i didn’t make the full amount of the filling, the tart was amazing ten minutes after it came out of the oven, but the lemon layer started to sink into the crust that evening. this forced us to consume the whole tart in less than 24 hours, lest we lose the lemon layer entirely (i know, it’s a rough life). i think with more filling, the lemon flavor would be stronger and withstand some sinkage into the the crust. but maybe you, dear readers, should try it for yourselves and let me know!

lemon tart

yields 8-12 servings

adapted from the tassajara cookbook: lunches, picnics & appetizers
the amounts in parentheses are what i used for my tart pan instead of a 9×13 pan

• crust
• 2c (1½c) flour
• 1/2c (1/3c rounded) sugar
• 1t (3/4t) baking powder
• 1/4t (1/6t) baking soda
• 1/2t (1/3t rounded) salt
• 1c (3/4c) butter or fake butter (i used a combo)

• filling
• 1/3c (1/4c) flour
• 1t (3/4t) baking powder
• 1c (3/4c) sugar
• 4 (3) eggs
• 6T (4½T) lemon juice
• 1½t (1t rounded) lemon zest
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1. for the crust: mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together
2. work in the butter until all ingredients are combined
3. press dough into 9×13 or tart pan (use parentheses amounts!!) and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350° oven
4. for the filling: mix the next amount of flour and baking powder together and set aside (i would use non-parentheses amount regardless of pan size here)
5. in another bowl, mix sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest together, then add to dry ingredients
6. pour this mixture over the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes more, or until the top of the tart is fairly firm to the touch and not wobbly. let sit for a few minutes, then enjoy warm or cool!