A&M: People who taste this smooth, fragrant tart won’t believe that it contains a whole lemon, rind and all. Nor will they understand how you got it to be so fragrant and light and not at all gummy the way lemon curd tarts can sometimes be. In our view “Mary” wasn’t lazy at all, she was brilliant. She has you whiz the filling together in a blender, then simply pour it into a blind-baked tart shell. Dymnyno, who lives in the Napa Valley, said, “Versions of this simple, quick dessert have circulated around the valley for years.” She gave the tart her own touch—a Meyer lemon—which lends it fragrance and finesse and none of the intrusive acidity found in regular lemons. One catch: you’ll need to use your own tart dough. If you don’t have a favorite, we recommend The Joy of Cooking’s sweet pastry dough.
1 large Meyer lemon, cut into 8 pieces
1½ cups superfine sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Your favorite 9-inch tart shell, blind-baked (see Tips and Techniques)
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Put all the ingredients—except the tart shell—into a blender and whirl like crazy!
- Pour into the tart shell.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. (Watch that the top does not burn.) Cool on a wire rack before serving.
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
To blind bake the tart shell, we lined a 9-inch fluted tart pan with the pastry dough, pricked it with a fork, lined it with parchment, filled it with pie weights, and baked it at 375°F for 15 minutes, then removed the weights and baked it for another 10 minutes. Once the tart shell cooled, we added the lemon filling and sent it back for one last turn in the oven. Start checking it at 35 minutes.
Culinista Annouchka: “I actually put the mixture into ramekins and in a water bath—it was a superb crustless lemon tart!”
ABOUT THE COOK
Mary Fairbanks Constant owns Constant Winery in Napa Valley, California, where she also serves as the winery cook. See Heart of Gold (panko-breaded artichoke hearts with a creamy cumin-lime dipping sauce). Here’s her blog: Current Vintage (www.current-vintage.com).
Her favorite recipe from a cookbook: “Chicken Fried Soft Shell Crabs from Fish Without a Doubt by Rick Moonen (an activist for sustainable fishery).”
WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID
Aargersi: “Made this for a dinner party Saturday night and it was a hit! I used a pecan maple crust recipe that is super easy (Lazy Me!:-) and it all came together perfectly. Bless you, Lazy Mary! This appears to be one of the most popular recipes on Food52!!!”
BEHIND THE SCENES
It became clear with this recipe that we had a particular interest in techniques that would elevate accessible or already familiar recipes. Here are some of the other technique-driven recipes we’ve been moved by: Pink Greens, The (Not Barefoot) Contessa’s Fish Pasta, and Classic Southern Buttermilk-Bathed Fried Chicken.