Saturday 6 February 2010

Lemon Tart - An Obsession

Taking a little breather from my holiday blogs, I just remembered a little obsession I had before I went home for Christmas - tarte au citron. It was one of those niggling food longings that I couldn't shake off.

Goodies from the Bakery - Marylebone

There was the the lemon tart I got as part of a late night discount goodie bag when I was in Marylebone one evening. Despite the huge crack down the middle, it was a delicious tart with a full bodied tang. The other items in the box were a chocolate eclair and a slice of tiramisu. Neither as good as the tart.

Tarte Au Citron - St Germain, Farringdon

There was also the tarte au citron from St Germain with its caramelised top and side of crème fraîche that I had previously blogged about here.

Tarte Au Citron - Paul, Holborn

The offering from Paul's was probably the best looking of the lot. Neat with an alluringly yellow filling and such a pretty glaze but alas, not the best tasting. The lemon flavour was somewhat lacking and the pastry wasn't quite up to scratch.

Tarte Citron - Patisserie Valerie

I stopped by Patisserie Valerie one day and was met with a somewhat lackluster looking tarte au citron. I nearly walked away but I was in serious need of a lemon tart fix. It was gorgeous! Where it lacked in appearance it compensated in taste. The pastry crumbled just right with the barest hint of butter, the filling was sharp but not cringingly so. It was, without a doubt, the best of the lot.

Terrible Lemon Tart!

My quest to find a good lemon tart had become a bit of a running joke with some of my colleagues. One day I found this sitting on my desk - fully packaged and minus the huge bite into it, of course. Oh, it was disgusting! Hard, sugary and full of that artificial lemon flavour. Sigh .. that was a cruel, cruel joke!

1 comment:

Rafleesia said...

Oh! That last picture was cruel! I LOVE lemon tarts too...if you ever get the chance one day, you must try the one that Mikael bakes (yes he does) and it is quite lovely.