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Almond Pastry: Sift the flour with the
almond meal, confectioners sugar, baking powder, and salt. Place in
the bowl of your electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle
attachment. (Can also use a hand mixer). Add the chunks of cold butter
and beat on medium low speed until the mixture is mealy (grainy with
no visible pieces of butter). Add the cold egg yolks and seeds from
the vanilla bean (if using) and beat on low speed until the dough
comes together (it will be yellow in color).
Place
the pastry onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Wrap in
plastic wrap
and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least six hours (the pastry
can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days or frozen for
up to three months). After the
pastry has chilled sufficiently, place on
a lightly floured surface, and roll into a 11 inch (28 cm) round. (To
prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform
thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as
you roll.) Place
the round of pastry on a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator
for about 15-30 minutes (to firm up the pastry which makes it easier to
place into the tart ring (pan)). Then gently
place the round into an 8 or 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart ring (pan).
Never pull the pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by
too much pulling of the pastry when placing it into the tart ring
(pan)). Then press the pastry onto the bottom and up the
sides of the tart pan. With a sharp knife cut excess pastry from top
of tart pan. Then with a thumb up movement, again press
pastry into
creases of pan. Place the tart pan on a parchment lined baking sheet,
cover, and place in the refrigerator while you preheat your oven.
Preheat your oven to
350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Prick
bottom of pastry with the tines of a fork (this will prevent the pastry from puffing up as it bakes). Line
unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or foil. Fill the tart pan with
pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan
and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake the crust for about 25
- 30 minutes or until
the crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Place on a wire rack, remove
parchment paper and pie weights, and let cool
completely.
For Lemon Curd:
In a stainless steel bowl whisk
together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Place over
a saucepan of simmering water, and cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling),
until the mixture becomes pale in color and quite thick (like a hollandaise
sauce or sour cream) (175 degrees F or 79 degrees C on a thermometer).
This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour
through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Whisk the butter into the mixture until the
lemon curd is smooth and creamy. Add the
lemon zest. Immediately pour
the lemon curd into the baked and cooled crust and smooth the top.
Meringue: In a heatproof bowl
(preferably stainless steel) whisk the egg whites with the sugar and cream of
tartar. Place
over a saucepan of simmering water and, whisking or stirring constantly, heat the egg whites
until the sugar has melted and the mixture is hot (160 degrees F or 71
degrees C as this is the temperature that kills the risk of salmonella). Remove from heat,
wipe any moisture from the bottom of your bowl, and transfer
the egg whites to your mixing bowl fitted with the
whisk attachment (can use a hand mixer). Beat the whites on high speed until
stiff peaks form. Beat in the vanilla extract. Using two spoons, place large
spoonfuls of the meringue on top of the filling. Gently press down on the
meringue to remove any air bubbles. If desired, make swirls in the meringue with
the back of your spoon.
Then place the tart under a hot broiler (or you
can use a hand held propane torch) until the meringue has browned. Watch
carefully as it can burn very quickly. Serve or you can place it, uncovered, in
the refrigerator until serving time if you prefer a chilled tart. This tart is
definitely at its best the day it's made. But leftovers can be covered loosely
with a piece of foil and stored overnight.
Serves about 8 to 10 people.
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