Lemon tart is one of my all-times favorite deserts, one that has especially marked my childhood. My dad used to bake them quite often – mostly at my request! – following the great Pierre Hermé’s recipe, expertly mastering it, time after time.
So it comes as no surprise that this is the recipe that I tried to reproduce for this shoot. I admit it was quite a lot of work, as I wanted to make everything from scratch, but there was something almost of a soul-search in exploring this recipe that I have seen my dad perform so many times. In terms of aesthetics, the crust of the pastry came out slightly irregular around the edges, but to be honest, without using a proper “cercle a patisserie” that’s a lost battle. Apart from that I was quite happy about the result: it was very similar to my dad’s version and tasted absolutely fantastic.
The second lemon tart, sprinkled with icing sugar, was Marta’s version – we had agreed on baking one each – and funnily enough it came out very different. It was nice to see that there is a whole variation on the lemon tart theme.
Photography: Astrid Templier – http://www.astridtemplierphotography.com
Styling: Marta Wojtczak