April 30, 2007

When Life Hands You Lemons...


Only those eternally optimistic, in your face cheery people say things like “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!” When what you really want to do is take those lemons and throw them right back, adding in a few lemons of your own. In this case, the metaphorical lemon would be the disaster that was the crepe cake and although pulverizing it in my 3 horsepower blender would have been entertaining, it wasn’t going to make me any lemonade. Therefore, I turned to the one person I knew would never, ever disappoint me with a bad recipe: Dorie Greenspan. Just opening up my copy of Baking: From My Home To Yours was enough to soothe my shattered nerves. I knew there was no risk of failure so I was free to choose whichever recipe I wanted. When I came across the Tartest Lemon Tart I knew it was meant to be. The lemon analogy comes full circle.



As is always the case with a Dorie recipe, this tart was wonderful. And the title is as fitting as any you’ll ever see. The use of whole lemons in this tart certainly renders it the most tart of tarts. If you’re a citrus lover, this is certainly the tart for you. The intense lemon flavour tantalizes all of your tastebuds and is never sour or overwhelming. As I’ve said before, I love the suggestions that Dorie has for variations to each of her recipes. Once again, this tart was no exception. The sidebar suggested making it a brulee tart. A brulee tart??? Heck yeah! Brulee meant another reason to use my mini torch. The mini torch gave its all for this tart, may it rest in peace. It just couldn’t handle the awesomeness of the tart and fizzled out, but not after creating a perfectly crunchy top layer. I think I need to invest in a real kitchen torch, once you’ve had a brulee crunch, there’s no going back. I’m a believer.



As I stood and looked at the completed tart, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. That something was a splash of colour. I contemplated making a raspberry coulee, (the recipe for that is also in Dorie’s book) but why make a raspberry coulee when you can make a blackberry coulee? It’s as simple as whirring together some blackberries and sugar but the result was spectacular. Not only did the dark blackberries lend contrast to the tart but some excellent flavour too. This is where I patted myself on the back for a job well done. I’m back on track after the crepes and it’s all thanks to Dorie. I guarantee if she had a crepe cake recipe, it would be a fabulous one.




Not only did this tart taste delicious, but it was for a good cause too. The ever busy Barbara of Winos and Foodies is hosting A Taste of Yellow for Livestrong Day and has asked us all to make yellow dishes for the event. LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's (LAF) grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country. LIVESTRONG Day 2007 will occur on Wednesday, May 16 so you’ve got plenty of time to get baking!






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27 comments:

Virtual Frolic said...

Oh my gosh - a brulee lemon tart? you're killing me!! That looks so good - I love the individual portion ones!! I was about to make the basketball team cookies..but now this looks so tempting..which recipe to do first...

babyjorocks said...

oh my goodness, those look sooo good! <3

Warda said...

It looks soooo good. Anything with a brulee has my name over it.

neil said...

A lemon tart with a burnt sugar crust, two of my favourite things. Glad to see you've recovered from the Martha Stewart induced trauma. Now that I've seen someone else be critical of a Nigella recipe as well, it's time for me to come out of the cupboard and say I'm no fan of her cooking either.

Barbara said...

This is a gorgeous tart Brilynn. Thanks for supporting A Taste of Yellow.

Anonymous said...

It's good to hear from you again! Though on the other side of the ocean I also have my Dorie book always nearby. I'm a like my tarts tart kind of tart, sorry girl!

Jeanne said...

Oh my word. The more I read about Dorie's book, the more I want it... That lemon tart looks too fantastic and the brulees... it's almost too much to bear looking at them and not being able to taste!! I love the idea of the blackberry coulis too. Thanks for a wonderful post!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

What a really fantastic idea to brulee the lemon tart!

K and S said...

looks really delicious!

Anonymous said...

What a way to get back at the baking Gods :)

Those are beautiful tarts and just the thought of all that tart lemony goodness has my mouth watering already!

It will probably be a long day :)

Jenny said...

Oh how pretty!
And your blender probably would have been ruined by the crepe cake, so good call not shoving it in there. :-)

Cheryl said...

It seems that Dorie is the remedy to the headache of the crepe cake.

What a fantastic job you did with this. And making it into a brulee is just perfect.

Anonymous said...

Oh my land, Bri! I'll raise my hand as a huge citrus fan - and I bet the tartness of the lemon is soothed beautifully by the brulee! Fantastic!

Astrid said...

Mmm that looks delicious! It's uncanny, I made lemon tartlets yesterday evening for a guest, and because their surface wasn't very appealing (white foamy substance on top) I used my new torch to give them a caramelized finish which was much better. I didn't dare actually sprinkle sugar to make a real caramel, but will try thanks to your post.

Alicia said...

This last weekend I was out of town visiting my great grandma. After 92 years it seems it's her time to go. It's not the smoking or drinking that's finally getting the best of her, but lymphoma. It amazed me this morning to see this post. I hadn't heard of A Taste of Yellow, I'm so glad you posted this.

wheresmymind said...

Love the little tarts!

Sara said...

Wow, you've bounced back, and in a big way!

Kelly-Jane said...

Oh that tart looks so good, lemon, a brulee layer on top with berries and sauce - it couldn't get any better!

Helene said...

I love that lemon tart...I sometimes make just the filling. The first time I made it I wished I had been alone, I wanted the whole thing!
Beautiful shot. And yes, the baking gods hve been healed!

Anonymous said...

Oh this looks utterly fantastic! What a great idea! I'm salivating and puckering right now, in front of my computer at work no less.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Who needs that silly crepe cake? Lemon and blackberry is one of my favorite combinations -- for taste as well as color. Yum!

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful, Brilynn! My mouth is watering just to think of it!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

after u mentioned i tried to get the dorie greenspan book frm my usual bookstore but they did'nt have it.But if u keep making these wonderful recipes i dont think i need to get one....just follow ur blog and i'll have it all :)))the crust on your tart has got me drooling all over my laptop !hdhl

Kirsten said...

SOOO lovely!

Lis said...

Holy crap I hate when I get behind in my reading.. I could have been drooling over this 2 days ago. DUDE you ROCK! Lemon brulee + blackberry coulis.. be still my heart.

xoxo

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Inspired! What are you waiting for you need to find someone with some money and you need to be opening your own place. People would travel a long way to eat the things you write about. With your sense of humour, it would have a great atmosphere too.

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic entry for this event. And what a great way to get back at Martha for trying you all with that recipe. Dorie is a great answer!