Tarte au cirton

[Mishy1234]

In a post Great British Bakeoff frenzy, I had my first attempt at a tarte au citron today. It went surprisingly well considering my general culinary ineptitude.

However, I noticed after cutting that the filling seems to have separated into 2 layers, with the bottom containing more than it's fair share of zest. I suspect it's supposed to be uniform. Any ideas of what went wrong?

It is supposed to be uniform and would like to try the recipe myself so keen to hear others' experience.

Two thoughts on the separation issue.

Is your zest really fine or is it quite chunky? If it is chunky, then it will sink before the filling sets in the oven.

The other problem might be that your filling is really cold because you are using ingredients straight out of the fridge and by the time the filling has heated up enough to set the zest has sunk to the bottom of the tart.

I tried the recipe too after seeing the programme. I cheated with ready made pastry though! Delicious! Although I added a splash of lemon juice from a bottle as well as the juice from the lemons.

I agree with above, sounds like your filling was cold and it settled before the eggs cooked.

Could be that the filling was too cold. The cream was straight from the fridge, although the other ingredients were at room temp. Should I have brought the cream out beforehand?

It's a REALLY lovely recipe though. It would be quite quick too once you got the hang of the pastry.

Did you find the filling set OK or did you have to cook it quite a lot longer than the recipe said?

The cold cream might well be the issue.

I cooked a bakewell tart with a frangipane filling today made from eggs and butter that had been in the fridge (I forgot to take them out) so I put the mixed up filling in a gentle microwave on 'defrost' setting to put a bit of warmth in before putting the frangipane in the case.

That's a great tip about using the microwave MoreBeta. The filling was in the over for about 30 minutes and seemed fine. It's difficult to get it just right, especially if you don't have any experience like me. I was just amazed that it turned out so well.

Did anyone see the masterclass last night. I saw some of it, but will need to go back and see the Sacher torte (sp?).