Lemon Tart

Recipe Content

I plan to feature a lemon tart recipe for my project. This lemon tart recipe uses the sabayon and bain-marie methods to create a velvety lemon custard. The crust is made of pine nuts, giving this lemon tart the perfect balance of nutty, sweet, and tart.

Allergens: nuts, eggs, dairy, and wheat

Makes 8 slices

Prep + cooking time: 75 minutes

Pine Nut Crust

• Butter and flour for the tart pan
• 1/3 serving of Pine Nut Crust

Lemon Sabayon

• 2 large eggs, cold
• 2 large egg yolks, cold
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

• Oven and broiler
• 9-inch fluted tart pan
• Pot
• Large metal bowl
• Large whisk

The Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.
2. Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough.

3. Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling. (There may be some cracks in the crust; they will not affect the finished tart.)

The Sabayon

1. Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth.

2. Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice.

3. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and sticks to a spoon or whisk, as pictured below. The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools.
5. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

6. Preheat the broiler. While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.

Recipe Websites

This website is clean and very simple to read. I like how there's a blue box featuring yield size, prep time, and total cooking time. This box also serves as a divider between the description of the recipe and the actual recipe. I also like how the ingredients and the directions are positioned side-by-side so readers can look at both at the same time.

The Food Network has a much shorter description and jumps right into the recipe. I love the little checklist for the ingredients, allowing viewers to check off ingredients that have been bought or prepped. It also allows you to export this list as a shopping list, making it easy for users when they're at the grocery store.

I like how each step has a clear, short header with a photo that accompanies the respective step. While it takes longer to scroll through everything, the photos may be helpful for less experienced cookers.

Non-Recipe Websites

Photos are probably one of the most important elements on a recipe page because people want to know what the food looks like before deciding to actually make it. I like how this New Yorker food review has a couple of full-screen photos in addition to smaller photos throughout the article.

This landing page only uses 2 main fonts, yet it doesn't seem boring at all. I like how they cleverly use font size and weight to establish hierarchies without it being overwhelming nor boring.

Another example of using the same font but playing with font size and color is MoMa's website. Everything is in MoMa's signature bold font, but the website still establishes hierarchy via size and colors. The bold font works well because the text is short.