Lemon Tarts- The classic from Raymond Blanc

The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit.

Thomas Malory

The Regular readers of this blog would be wondering at the frequency of the posts this month. March onwards; I have a lot of birthdays and anniversaries. April- May really are hectic months for birthdays- There are days, when I know of 3 people at least, who share their birthdays on the same day. This has been enough cause for me to get my baking act together. It also gives me a chance to challenge myself with my baking. This birthday dessert was decided a long time back, when I discovered that my sister-in-law finds lemon tarts irresistible- and I had decided then itself, that for her birthday, I am going to try these. I started the research for the right recipe almost a week back- As simple as they may seem, I figured that this was going to be a lengthy process and one that would need precision. Luckily, it was a Saturday- and with no prior commitments until 4 pm- I decided to embark on the Classic French Tart journey.

It was one of discovery, learning, and of course some disappointments on the way. I am moderately happy with the results and I know that the next time around when I bake these again- I have to achieve perfection.  The error was in the baking time- I left them in the oven for almost 5 extra minutes- and by the time they cooled, they developed slight cracks. While baking I remembered a friend M discussing with me the other day- that it was easy to adapt a recipe- but it is quite challenging to follow it to the T and achieve desired results. I guess that is true for most baking. Even though my Sister-in-Law is far away, we honoured the traditional cutting ceremony- through the world of modern technology. The audience was happy with results- I believe I got the flavours right. By the time the birthday girl is here next- I hope to have perfected these. For those who love classic tarts, do try this one from the renowned Raymond Blanc recipe here.  A great summery birthday treat.

p.s. Since it was a trial, I only made half the quantity.

For the recipe, Visit the website here.

Tips: Do follow the techniques to the T. Take out the tarts from the oven, before they are done.

I did not use a blender at all- I think that really works.