Lemon Tart

Remove the rich shortcrust pastry from the fridge (prepared the day before) and roll out with a rolling pin.

Place the pastry on a Silichef XL perforated baking sheet lined with a Silpat baking mat.

Place a stainless steel perforated tart ring over the pastry...

... and cut the pastry along the inside of the ring with a utility knife.

The result should look like this.

Carefully remove the pastry excess.

You should obtain a perfectly neat disc of pastry.

Place the tart ring...

... over the pastry disc.

Gather the pastry scraps together and roll out.

Using a graduated ruler...

... cut a few strips to a width of 2 cm (which is the height of the tart ring).

You'll need 3 strips of pastry to line the ring.

Using a pastry brush, apply a little water along the inner sides of the ring.

Arrange one strip of pastry inside the ring...

... and ease it carefully with your fingers to make it stick.

Repeat with the second strip...

... and press both ends together so they join properly.

Line the remaining gap with the third strip.

The result should look like this.

Apply a little water with the brush over the sides of the tart.

Slide a knife along the rim of the ring...

... to remove the pastry excess.

Bake the pastry case in a preheated oven at 180°C (gas 4)...

... for 12 minutes.

Gently release the tart from the ring.

Leave in the oven until golden...

... for another 2 or 2 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool at room temperature.

For the lemon curd: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Zest the lime in a saucepan using a Microplane Classic grater.

Add 75 grams of castor sugar...

... and the lemon juice (liquid purée).

Combine vigorously with a whisk...

... and bring to a boil.

Pour the whole eggs and 100 grams of castor sugar in a mixing bowl. Blanch with a whisk.

Pour the boiling syrup over the blanched eggs and combine with a whisk.

Transfer the preparation into the saucepan used to cook the sugar...

... and cook for 2 or 3 minutes until the preparation starts boiling.

Cook for a further 1 minute after the first boil.

Transfer the preparation into a dispenser jug. It should have thickened during cooking.

Mix with a Bamix hand blender...

... while adding the soft butter.

Mix until completely incorporated.

Pour lemon curd into one cavity of the whirl silicone mould.

Using a small palette knife, spread the lemon curd so it fills all the grooves in the mould.

Fill up the rest of the cavity with lemon curd...

... and even the surface. Place the mould in the freezer. You can make this the day before.

Gently release the pastry shell from the ring...

... and fill with lemon curd.

Even the surface with the small cranked spatula.

Transfer the remaining lemon curd into a bowl and add small pinches of green colouring until you get the desired colour.

Transfer the green lemon curd into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle Ø 5mm. Reserve in the fridge.

Remove the frozen lemon curd disc out of the freezer and release from the mould...

... then arrange carefully over the lemon tart, well centred.

Using the Microplane grater, grate the base of the pastry shell to remove any imperfections.

The result should look like this.

When the green lemon curd has set, pipe drops over the surface of the tart in the pattern of your choice.

Grate some lime zest directly over the tart.

Arrange small pieces of gold leaf on top of the green lemon curd drops to finish the decoration. Enjoy!