Lemon crumble tart with almond cream

A classic, rich tart with a crisp shortcrust base, soft almond cream, fresh lemon filling and a buttery crumb topping. Ideal as a dessert or with coffee.

Serves: 8–10
Preparation: approx. 40 minutes (incl. dough resting time)
Baking: approx. 45–50 minutes
Total time: approx. 2½ hours (incl. cooling)

Ingredients

For 8–10 people

Shortcrust base

• 250 g flour
• 100 g caster sugar
• 125 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg (M)
• Pinch of salt

Almond cream (frangipane)

• 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 100 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs (M)
• 120 g ground almonds
• Zest of 1 organic lemon

Lemon filling

• Zest and juice of 2 organic lemons (± 100 ml juice)
• 120 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs (M)
• 100 ml unsweetened double cream (± 35% fat)
• 1 tbsp flour

You need a total of 3 organic lemons.

Crumb topping

• 150 g flour
• 100 g caster sugar
• 100 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Also needed

• 24 cm tart tin, preferably with a removable base
• Baking parchment
• Baking beans or dry rice (for blind baking)

Preparation

• Shortcrust pastry
  Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
  Add the cold butter and rub in with your fingertips until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture.
  Add the egg and knead briefly until a cohesive dough forms (do not overwork).
  Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour.
• Crumb topping
  Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
  Rub in the cold butter with your fingers until coarse crumbs form.
  Keep the crumbs, covered, in the fridge until needed.

Method

1. Preheat the oven and prepare the tin
   Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional). Lightly grease the tart tin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.
2. Blind bake the base
   Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a sheet about 3–4 mm thick. Line the tart tin with the dough, press the edges in well and trim away any excess. Prick the base with a fork. Place a sheet of baking parchment on the dough and fill the tin with baking beans or rice. Bake the base for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven. Carefully remove the parchment with the weights and leave the base to stand for a few minutes while you make the filling.
3. Make the almond cream and spread it over the base
   Beat the softened butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated. Mix in the ground almonds and lemon zest until smooth. Spread the almond cream evenly over the (blind-)baked tart base.
4. Make the lemon filling and pour it into the tin
   Finely zest the peel of 2 lemons and squeeze them to yield ± 100 ml juice. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until combined (not fluffy). Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, double cream and flour and whisk until smooth and lump-free. Carefully pour the lemon filling over the layer of almond cream; the tin will now be quite full.
5. Finish the tart and bake further
   Scatter the cold crumbs generously over the tart so the lemon filling is largely covered. Bake the tart for a further 30–35 minutes in the middle of the oven, until the crumb topping is golden brown, the edges are set and the centre of the filling still has a very slight wobble when you gently move the tin. If the crumbs darken too much while the filling is not yet set, loosely cover the tart with aluminium foil.
6. Let the tart cool and serve
   Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin for at least 2 hours on a wire rack, until completely cooled and the filling has set. Remove the ring from the tin and carefully slide the tart onto a serving plate. Just before serving, dust lightly with icing sugar if you like. Serve the lemon crumb tart plain, or with a spoonful of lightly whipped, unsweetened double cream. The tart often tastes even better the next day, once the flavours have had time to develop. Store covered in the fridge and serve preferably at room temperature or slightly chilled.