Week 6: Lemon Tart

Hi everyone!

I really need more socially
acceptable celebrity crushes

Truth be told, I'm a little obsessed with Marco Pierre White at the moment. His wild hair, his eccentric personality, his culinary finesse, his polished speeches- I'm in love! I wish he could stay on MasterChef forever, but alas, all good things must come to an end.

To mourn the conclusion of Marco week, I took on one of the great man’s recipes! So this week I lost my tart virginity to a lovely lemon number, which Marco used to serve at Harvey’s, his Michelin starred restaurant. Aren't I getting fancy?

Pastry

This tart certainly took the saying ‘go hard or go home’ to heart. The prescribed quantity of every ingredient left me flabbergasted. According to a dodgy internet site, 250 grams is four fifths the weight of a human heart. According to Marco Pierre White, 250 grams is the amount of butter that goes into an average sized pastry base!

I'm merely a naïve, inexperienced cook, in a world of deceptive desserts. Who am I to question Marco the godfather of modern cuisine? I'm legitimately scared that he’ll sense my doubt from London, chuck me in a food processor and turn me into some warped version of foie gras.

The blind baking process seemed so professional- I felt like a real chef! Unfortunately, I stopped feeling like a culinary god, when I realised that I’d forgotten to trim the overhanging pastry bits. They broke off in the oven, turning into burnt shards which bore a heavy resemblance to dog shit. I bet Marco never had to chip off poo-esque pastry with a butter knife.

Tart filling

The filling was simply a matter of combining eggs, cream, sugar and lemons. Mr Whisk was on his best behaviour. He didn’t decide to jumpship once! I may even be growing to like the damn contraption. Although I whisked to my heart’s content, I suspect my filling could have used a little more churning time. But that’s alright, I simply covered the tiny flecks of visible egg yolk with icing sugar later!

Although it was runny, the tart was absolutely delicious! It was obviously rich, but I personally found the richness manageable since the lemony tang cut through it. Listen to me, I'm turning into a pretentious food critic! As well as my usual guinea pigs (my family), two of my lovely friends came over to share a slice of my cholesterol-sky-rocketing tart.

Rating rubric

Dearest, loveliest lemon tart

Taste: 9.5/10- It would take talent to make cream, butter, sugar and lemon taste any worse than amazing.

Presentation/resemblance to dish: 7.5/10- it was a sexy tart, but the pastry wasn't perfectly shaped and the filling was slightly mottled on top because I didn't skim off enough gunk.

Time: 0/10 – Three and a half hours. I was in a sloth like state.

Kitchen Mess: 2/10 – not the absolute worst, but pretty close to it.

Well my tart obviously wasn't Marco or MasterChef approved, but it did taste wonderful. Enjoy Reynold’s return to MasterChef everybody!

Cheers,

Rosa

(sometimes) lovely amigos