Lemon tart - inspired by Paris

You'd think that after coming home from Paris, I'd be filled with inspiration on the baking front.  That actually wasn't the case.  When I first got back, I wasn't feeling much motivation to go into the kitchen although I was craving many of those wonderful pastries we ate while we were there.  I kept wishing we were still in Paris and could walk to a pâtisserie to pick up an amazing croissant, tart or eclair.

But I'm happy to report that those initial feelings of lethargy passed fairly quickly.  Reality set in.  I do not live in Paris (but very close to New York City, which is not too shabby either) and I still love to putter around in the kitchen, playing with flour.  If anything, the trip has given me more focus - to take my time and make what I think my family and I would really like to eat and explore. 

Now, I sit here with some ideas and inspirations from Paris.  The first thing I did was make this lemon tart, or tarte au citron since we're in a French mood.  I talked about the delicious lemon tarts I tasted in Paris and I now know why the French are known for their citrus tarts.  The flavor of a lemon tart is decidedly lemon, rather than sugary sweet.  I really wanted to recapture and enjoy that flavor again so I made this lemon tart recipe from David Lebovitz, who I consider a great, approachable source on pastry and French living.

One of the things about French pastry you notice right away is the artistry.  It's not just cake but many of the creations are miniature works of art as far as flavor, textures, and the layers involved.  At the same time, though, the French excel at simplicity, using high quality ingredients, not messing around with it too much, to create something delicious.  I find that duality really interesting.  For me, I'm certainly more at home sticking with the simple but delicious, which brings me back to this tart. 

I started with what I think is the simplest tart shell there is and filled it with a fairly modest amount of lemony lemon curd.  The whole thing is quite simple to put together, especially if you do what I did and make the tart shell (up to a month) in advance, store it in the freezer, and have it ready to bake the day you plan to put the whole thing together.  The lemon curd is simply cooked over the stovetop, with an equal ratio of 1/2 cup of lemon juice to sugar so that you have a delightfully lemon result.  Most recipes call for a lot more sugar and I'm happy to report that the end result here was not too tart and the taste was very reminiscent of the tart I ate from La Maison Paul so it really brought back a happy memory for me.

When it comes to the filling, I highly recommend using organic lemons if possible.  Take a sniff of the organic variety and you'll know what I mean.  Before making this, I wrestled with whether or not to make a bit more of the lemon filling.  Ultimately, I decided to stick with the recipe and make the modest amount, which I think is perfectly suitable to everyday eating.  For me, the relatively thin layer of filling was just right.  I didn't walk away from the table feeling like I over-indulged.

Incidentally, I highly recommend a cup of hot coffee to go with a slice of this tart.  My husband and I were sharing the last slice I'd tucked away in the fridge one morning (yes, morning) and it was particularly delightful with coffee.