Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust made with Microwave Lemon Curd

This is one of my favorite desserts!  Over the years, I've made it on several occasions and everyone loves it.  The Chocolate-Almond crust is so delicious and would adapt well to many different arts or pies. 



Lemon Tart with Chocolate-Almond Crust
~Food and Wine, January 2003

Makes one 11-inch tart

The chocolate pastry recipe leaves you with enough leftover dough to make about 12 rolled cookies.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Pastry

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour (see Note)
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg

Lemon Curd

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
Bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish

Directions:

To make the chocolate pastry

In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, cocoa and salt; pulse to blend. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg; process until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic, flatten into a disk and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out to a 14-inch round 1/4 inch thick. Fit the pastry into the tart pan. Run the rolling pin across the rim of the pan to cut off any overhanging dough. Patch any tears in the pastry with scraps. Line the pastry with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nearly dry. Remove the foil and bake the crust for 15 minutes longer, or until firm. Let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 300°.

Meanwhile, make the lemon curd

Set a fine sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the whole egg and the remaining 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar. Whisk half of the hot lemon syrup into the egg mixture; add the mixture to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the curd just comes to a boil, about 3 minutes; it should be the consistency of sour cream. Strain the curd through the fine sieve and let cool to room temperature, then whisk in the softened butter until the curd is light and fluffy.

Pour the curd into the crust and bake for 20 minutes, or just until set. Cool the tart on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chilled. Unmold the tart and garnish it with chocolate shavings. Transfer the tart to a large plate and serve.

The baked tart can be refrigerated overnight.

If you want a good, easy microwave version of lemon curd here is a recipe that was originally shared by ColleenOz from the Cooking Forum on Gardenweb and shared with my by Carol from There's Always Thyme. There is also several other versions on the web, one of which is here.


Microwave Lemon Curd

4oz butter (NOT margarine)
3/4 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons' worth)
All the rind from the lemons, grated
1 cup sugar
4-5 eggs, thoroughly beaten

Put butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind into a micro-safe bowl. Cook on high about 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. Butter should be melted and sugar dissolved. Beat in eggs and microwave in 30-second bursts until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk after each burst. Cool and pour into sterilized jars. Cover immediately. Store in refrigerator after opening, or even before opening to prolong the shelf life, which is short.

Makes about 3 medium sized jars.