INGREDIENTS
– 400 gr of plain flour
– 100 gr of icing sugar
– salt
– 250 gr of butter
– Eggs (2)
– Lemon
– 150 ml of cream
– Vanilla bean paste
– 140 gr of castor sugar
– 1/2 cup of pine nuts
DIRECTIONS
Mix 400g of plain flour with 100g of icing sugar and a pinch of salt. Chop 250g of butter into cubes and work the butter into the flour with your fingertips. When it resembles breadcrumbs, add 2 egg yolks and a teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest and mix well. Roll the dough into a ball, cover tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk 3 eggs, then add 150ml of cream, the juice and zest of one lemon, a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste, 140g of castor sugar, 80g of plain flour and 1/2 cup of pine nuts.
Take your pastry dough from the fridge, knead it gently for a few minutes and then roll out it out very thin. Grease a 9-inch tart pan and press the pastry into the edges. I don’t par-bake my pastry so you need to make sure it’s very thin so it will cook through. For best results, I also place the tart shell in the fridge to firm up the butter before filling it with the lemon and pinenut cream. Once you pour the filling into the tart shell, layer the remaining pastry over the top and pinch the edges of the pastry lid to join them with the pastry case. Top with extra pine nuts and cook at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes. You may need to cover the top with alfoil in the last 20 minutes to protect the top from burning.
When cooled, dust with icing sugar.