Tart au Citron (Lemon Tart)

This was a favorite of mine when my family and I toured Europe. Every chance I got I'd jump into a French pastry shop and buy one of these. This recipe is from Saveur Cooks Authentic French cookbook.

For the Pastry:
2 C flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
For the Filling:
1 1/4 Cups sugar
2 eggs
10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
Juice and minced zest of 2 lemons

For the pastry, combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knives (mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal). Sprinkle with up to 3 Tbsp ice water so that dough holds together, then form into a ball. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, then flatten and roll into a 9" round. Ease dough into an 8" false-bottomed tart pan. Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork. Cover dough with foil and chill for at least 20 minutes, then fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and continue baking for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For filling, beat sugar and eggs together in a bowl with an electric mixer until mixture is pale yellow. Continue beating as you gradually add melted butter. Then stir in lemon juice and zest. Spoon filling into tart shell and bake until crust is golden and filling is set and lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Serves 12.

364 calories in 1 serving, 22 g fat (13.6 g saturated), 0.6 g fiber