Easy Lemon Curd Tart--with a Splash of Limoncello

I don't think I have ever met anyone who would not like lemon curd tart. It is just too good to pass on. No matter what season or time of the day I serve it, it always disappears to the last crumb. But it has been a while since I made it last time. Recently, a friend brought from a pastry shop a very nice lemon tart. My son enjoyed it a lot wondering why I have not made mine anymore. So I served lemon curd tart when I had friends over for dinner during the holidays.

I love this recipe as it is the easiest I have ever found. I believe it comes from Gourmet magazine.

The crust is made entirely in a food processor and lemon curd topping is the simplest one can imagine. All the ingredients are cooked, chilled, and spread without even separating eggs or staining the curd after. In my recent version I also added a spoon of limoncello to underscore the lemon taste.

Served with fresh fruits, lemon curd tart not only tastes great but presents itself nicely.

Lemon-Limoncello Curd Tart

(For a 9" tart pan with removable walls)

Ingredients for the crust:
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour,
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter,
2 tbsp vegetable shortening,
a pinch of salt,
4 tbsp icy cold water,

Ingredients for the filling:
4 medium eggs, preferably organic,
3/4 cup sugar,
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice,
lemon zest grated from 2 lemons,
6 tbsp unsalted butter,
1 tbsp limoncello,
fresh raspberries and blueberries for decoration,
1 tbsp convectional sugar to finish.

Preparation:
1. To make the dough, place butter, shortening, flour, and salt in a bowl of food processor and pulse until crumbled.
2. Add icy cold water to the crumbles and run the food processor until a smooth ball forms.
3. Roll the dough on a working surface slightly dusted with flour to 10" diameter circle. Gently transform it to the tart form greased with butter and let it chill for at least 30 minutes (it can be chilled overnight).
4. Preheat oven to 350F and bake the crust until dark gold. Let it chill completely.
5. To prepare the filling, put eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium pot. Whisk until combined. in a medium pot.
6. Add the butter to the egg mixture and cook over a medium heat stirring all the time until it thickens and first bubbles appear on the surface of the curd.
7. Cool the curd to room temperature add limoncello and mix it into the curd.
8. Spread the curd on the baked tart crust. Cool again for about an hour.
9. Before serving, decorate the top of the tart with fruits and dust with confection sugar.