A very pretty lemon tart whipped up with a magic spoon aka Tarte au citron

“’You make a mistake if you don’t try to figure out love,’ he said now as he served the tarte au citron—boldly tangy with a hint of sweetness held in his feathery pastry. ‘If you give yourself to someone without understanding it, you are only asking to be a slave.’”

Isabel Vincent, Dinner with Edward: an uplifting story of food and friendship

This Tarte au Citron is roughly based on one used Le Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle de Pâtisserie (CAP Pâtisserie), a one or two year French qualification for professionals, particularly those hoping to become pastry cooks.

Filling made with whole eggs

The filling is a fabulous rich smooth lemon cream which the tasters were all convinced contained also lime juice – but it doesn’t, it’s unadulterated lemon. The lemon cream is made with whole eggs, so no whisky sour (sadly) in the offing, and no small bowls of egg whites waiting in the fridge for a raison d’être.

You mix it in a chicken’s arse!

My French isn’t too bad (good enough to enjoy Maigret in the original), but I struggled with cul de poule, and Deepl (my translator of choice, other than a native that is) struggled too, both of us coming out with ‘a chicken’s arse’. This is what I was supposed to make the lemon cream in. Further investigation revealed that this is the name for a mixing bowl in French. It’s probably best not to give too much thought to that!

How I discovered how useful a magic spoon can be

Then I had a second linguistic challenge – the idea was to whisk in the butter into the warm lemon cream using une cuillere magique – a magic spoon. Aha! So these French pastry chefs all have a secret weapon – no wonder my sauces never reach the Gallic dizzy heights of perfection! More research, and I’d found out what it was… a utensil I had had hanging in my own kitchen for some decades and never really used (I beat my eggs with a fork). But from now on, I will be using it as, I discovered, this nifty little tool effectively incorporates air into everything: it emulsifies sauces, smooths a roux, mixes a mayonnaise or a vinaigrette, aerates an omelette and renders pancake batter lumpless!

Magic spoon – take a bow! (If you are searching for one in English try ‘manual egg beater or whisk’).

lemon tart recipe
Pretty lemon tart
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Claire

Unfortunately you’ve put the ingredients where the instructions should be!

Related Posts

Tarte Tatin’s Secret Ingredient

“When you flip anything, you really… you just have to have the courage of your convictions.” -Julia Child Tarte Tatin is remarkably simple to…
Read More

Sign up to our Saucy Newsletter

subscribe today for monthly highlights of foodie events, new restaurant at home menus, recipe ideas and our latest blog posts

%d bloggers like this: