Lemon Tart with lemon french custard

Lemon tart with mandarines, it's a season dessert by the French Pastry Chef Christophe Felder.

I love citrus fruits and his recipe sounded great ! Who doesn't have a few lemons and mandarines ?

This recipe comes from the book "Exquises pâtisseries pour les fêtes" of Christophe Felder. 

 There is a lot of amazing recipes in it, even some muffins :)

I did my own cookie dough and I flavored it, but I followed all his steps for the lemon cream.

My cookie dough is mandarine flavoured, with the zests and a bit of juice.

I divided all the proportions by half and did 2 medium tarts instead of a big one.

  Preparation   I tried to follow his instructions, but it got harder than it is supposed to be... I felt like I lost a lot of time. But there is no difficulty in the recipe. It lacked of details, but I'll explain it clearly on this post. Still, it took me about 1 hour to prepare... mainly because of the mandarines.

  Tasting   I've never been disappointed by Christophe's recipes ! That cream is absolutely delicious, though too buttery for some people. It's a fresh, rich and buttery cream... it's an all-season dessert actually. A lot of flavor with a hint of sugar... I really don't think I could find better, unless there is less butter in it ahah. For the mandarines, I'm not convinced, it seemed like a nice touch but it's not worth it !

  Conclusion   I keep the recipe, without the mandarines :)

For a 9 inch pie : serves 6 to 8

Christophe Felder gives a recipe for the cookie dough :

Same as mine but +2tbsp of butter and no zests. Softened butter mix everything with a wooden spoon.

Keep 1 hour in the fridge, then cook at 350°F for 15minutes. Turn out when cooled.

   You will need :   

For the cookie dough

1lb of cookie dough with :

2 mandarine's rinds, shredded finely

3tbsp of grounded almond
1/2 cup white sugar

- instead of 2/3 cup -

For the lemon custard

5 meyer lemon's rind, finely shredded

1 1/4 cup sugar (270gr)

3 sticks of butter (350gr)

- it hurts ! -

5 eggs

2 mandarines
1/3 powdered gelatin bag (0.07oz/2gr)

Turn the oven on at 325°F

Making the dough

Finely peel the mandarine's zests with a cheese grate. Chop them.
Add it to the flour with grounded almonds and sugar. Then follow the recipe of cookie dough.

Flatten it on 0.2 inch (5mm) and place it in your buttered mold. Press gently on the sides so it won't fall.
Put 20 minutes in the oven.

Turn out when cooled.

Prepare the custard

Prepare the gelatin by following the instructions on the package.

While your dough is cooking, peel coarsely your lemons to get the rinds.
They may be thick, it doesn't matter... do as peeling an apple.

Cut the butter in dices, set aside.
Press lemon juice in a saucepan, with zests, gelatin, sugar and eggs beaten, whisk.

Turn the stove on at low/medium heat while stirring.

- ingrédients non battus - après battage - après cuisson -

After a "while" (15 to 20 minutes) the cream will thicken and start simmering.
Turn the stove off, add the diced butter and stir until homogeneous.
Use a strainer to pour in a bowl and remove the zests.
Once filtered, beat with an electric beater at medium speed for 1 minute.

Making the tart

Remove all the thin white skins from your mandarines.

- it takes a while ! -

Cut them in dices if too big. 

On your pre-cooked dough, Pour half of the custard, then the mandarines.

Keep the center of the tart without mandarines (circle of 2inches) so it will be beautiful when served. 

Pour the end of the custard, flatten it.

Decorate with a vanilla bean and a few mandarines... a rasperrie or whatever you have :)

Refrigerate 2 hours before serving !

Breakfast of the world Challenge !

Breakfasts of the World Challenge on Very Good Recipes

The results of the Breakfast of the World Whallenge have been published !

My French citrus crêpes got the 1st place !

Thank you so much to all the judges and the generous sponsor for this challenge !

You can see the all the challengers here !

That was my first contest :)

Best Creamy Chocolate Pudding

Do you like chocolate, really do ? 

This is a recipe you have to try... 

It's the best chocolate cream I've ever tasted ! 

This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated, they really do have great recipes.

  Preparation    15 minutes top, so quick and easy !

  Tasting    So onctuous and creamy and... perfect, but if you prefer milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate, this recipe is not for you !

  To conclude    I did it 3 times in a row... loved it too much !

Serves 6 to 8

   You will need :   

1/2 cup white sugar

2tbsp cornstarch

- Maizena -

3tbsp unsweetened cocoa

- Van Houten or Hershey's unsweetened -

2 pinch of salt

- environ 2gr -

3 egg yolks

2 1/2 cup  milk (21fl.oz/62,5cL)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (2fl.oz/6cL) 

4tbsp unsalted butter (1.8oz/50gr)

1cup bittersweet chocolate ~80% cocoa (3.9oz/110gr)

2tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp strong ground coffee

- I used Nespresso coffee -

In a small bowl, mix vanilla and coffee. Set aside.

Prepare together butter and chocolate in morsels. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir in sugar, cocoa salt and cornstarch, mix.

Whisk in the yolks and the cream until homogeneous

Whisk in the milk until fully integrated.

Bring slowly to a boil at low heat, whisking slowly. It takes 7 to 8 minutes.

When all the surface is simmering/boiling. Count down 30 secondes while whisking.

Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and butter in morsels. Whisk until homogeneous !

Whisk in the vanilla/coffee mix.

When you have an homogeneous cream, pour in a bowl and cover with buttered parchment paper.

Refrigerate 2 hours.

Whisk and serve !

 - I love so much chocolate ! -

Sweet and tender muffins with chocolate, banana and honey !

I loved the Cranberrie's recipe so much this time muffins are banana and chocolate !

Turn your oven on, these are really really good !

 For a dozen big muffins

   Il vous faut :    

For the main batter

1 3/4 cup flour (6.3oz/180gr)

3/4 cup whitesugar (6.3oz /180gr)

1/4 cup brown sugar (0.7oz/20gr)

7tbsp of slowly melted and cooled butter (2.8oz/80gr)

2 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

1/2 cup of milk (4.2 fl oz/12,5 cL)

- whole milk -

3/4 cup of dark chocolate, chopped (2.5 oz/70 gr) 

- 70% -

3/4 tsp salt

For the bananas

2 cups bananas (10.6oz/300gr)

- 2 grandes bananes ou 6 petites -

2tbsp honey

For the Streusel

3tbsp flour 

1 tbsp + 1tsp white sugar

1tbsp light brown sugar

4tbsp softened butter

2 pinch of salt

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Turn the oven on at 425°F

Make the streusel

Mix sugar, cocoa, salt, flour and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse sand 

- 4 to 5 pressures -

Pour in a bowl, set aside

Prepare bananas 

Cut the bananas in small dices and stir honey by hand in them,

Cover and set aside.

Preparing the main batter

Butter and flour the mold if needed.

In a saucepan, slowly melt the butter and let it cool down a few minutes

\\ or use a microwave, 2 x 12secondes, stirring in between //

-------

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, set aside.

In another bowl, use an electric beater to beat egs and sugar until white and fluffy

- 1 minute -

Pour in the butter, whisking, then the milk.

Add the flour little by little by whisking.

Cover and set aside 30 minutes

Stir in the bananas, the chocolate and fill your muffin tins.

Have the center a bit higher and spread streusel on the top, press lightly on it.

Bake 17 to 18 minutes

- Rotate muffin tray from front to bacj hafway through baking -

Let them cool down 10 minutes in their tins

 and 10 more minutes on a wire rack before eating them all !

 

 - Only one left... -

! See all the muffins recipes !

The French Flan - Custard Tart

A Home-made flan like in french bakery shops. A touch of vanilla, it's a really fresh dessert.

That's the first flan I have ever made, and I really think it was perfect... not too heavy, 

not too much flour, great colour and shape... this recipe convinced me !

I've looked in many books and magazines, finally it's Sébastien Gaudard's rcipe that I've chosen, 

But I followed others advices and tips (Françoise Bernard's) and I've added vanilla.

The book it comes from : "Le meilleur des desserts"/"The best of desserts" lacks of details...

Honestly, if you follow it word by word, you won't succeed....

Well, I already knew the tricks so I haven't had any problems, here is the detail recipe :)

Enjoy that delicious flan !

  Preparation   There is a few tricks but I explain everything carefully in the recipe

  Tasting    Amazingly good, at least as good as in the french pastry shops !

  To conclude    I'm not looking further for a flan recipe right now, I'm happy with this one :)

For a 9inch mold

For 8 people

   Il vous faut :   

1 cookie dough, vanilla flavoured

3 cups + 3tbsp of milk (75cL)

4 eggs

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

3,5tbsp of Maïzena (2.1oz)

- cornstarch -

1 vanilla bean, grated

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Turn the oven on at 320°F

Making the dough

Follow the recipe of pâte brisée

Add in 1 tsp of vanilla extract with the water

Place some parchement paper in your pie-mold so you can unmold it easily afterwards.

Flatten you dough (2mm) place it in your mold, pressing gently on the edges.

Use a rolling pin to remove the excess

- roll toward the exterior of the mold -

Create an alluminium circle so the dough won't go down. 

Do that only if the edges are vertical like mines.

Put in the oven 15 minutes

Set aside at room temperature.

Put the oven on at 375°F

Prepare the vanilla bean

Open he bean in half, remove the seeds and set them aside for another recipe.

Doing the pastry cream

Bring the milk to a boil with 1tbsp from the sugar in a saucepan

- putting sugar avoids milk burning/sticking on the sides -

In the meanwhile, whisk the eggs with what's left of sugar. Stirr in the maizena until homogeneous.

- that's quick -

When the milk simmers, put in the vanilla bean and pour the half of it on the previous batter, whisking !

Whisk for 15seconds and put it all back in the saucepan at medium heat, whisk well.

Leave it 2 to 3 more minutes, whisking continuously especially in the corners of the sauce pan !

It will thicken quickly. Remove from the stove and pour in a bowl. 

You have made a french pastry cream :)

Remove the vanilla beam, and beat with an electric beater 1 minute at low speed.

Pour the cream in the mold, flatten the top.

Put in the oven 45 to 50 minutes in the middle of the oven until real golden on the top.

 

- it's alive ! -

- After cooling down, it flattens and creates a thin layer of dough :) -

Let it cool down at room temperature, 

then refrigerate at least 3 hours

Serve cold !