Lemon Cheesecake Tart with Lemon Curd
Photography Josh Griggs.
Lemon tart is my absolute favourite dessert for so many reasons. This is my latest incarnation – a lemon cheesecake/tart filling topped with extra zingy lemon curd.
If you like zesty, lip-puckering lemon flavours, you can’t go wrong!
Serves: 8-10
INGREDIENTS
Pastry
130 grams butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup icing sugar
1½ cups plain flour
finely grated zest 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Filling
125 grams cream cheese, roughly chopped, at room temperature
1 tablespoon custard powder
¾ cup caster sugar
finely grated zest 1 large lemon
½ cup cream
½ cup lemon juice
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
To serve
1 cup purchased lemon curd
METHOD
Equipment: Lightly grease a 25cm round tart tin with a removable base.
Pastry: Blitz the butter, icing sugar, flour and zest in a food processor until it forms crumbs. Add the juice and pulse to form bigger, clumpy breadcrumbs. Tip onto the bench and form into flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of baking paper. Remove the paper and place the pastry in the tin, pressing on the sides and the edge of the base to form an even layer. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Chill the tart for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C regular bake.
Place a piece of baking paper over the tart base and fill with baking beans. Blind bake the tart for 12 minutes then remove the paper and beans and cook for a further 10 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside on a baking tray.
Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C regular bake.
Filling: Put the cream cheese, custard powder, caster sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the cream and lemon juice and pulse to combine, then add the eggs and yolks and blend for a just few more seconds until smooth. Gently pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for about 30 minutes until set but still with a bit of wobble in the middle.
Turn the oven off, open the door wide and let it sit for half an hour before removing to cool on the bench. Cover and place in the fridge. Spread the lemon curd on top of the tart to serve.
Cook’s Note: The tart can be made the day before or on the morning of the day you want to serve it. Remove from the fridge half an hour before serving.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.




