I just about had a breakdown yesterday. After a stressful day, I began my nightly ritual of opening the girls backpacks, sorting their papers, reading notes from their teachers and repacking for the next morning. It's during this attempt at organization that I take note of important dates and update my calendar.
Between field trips, field day, music programs, extra dance classes before recital, birthday parties and softball practice (because you know, we coach both girls' teams in our "free" time) my calendar was suddenly very, VERY full. Like, panic-inducing, how-the-heck-are-we-going-to-do-this, full. FULL.
I know this isn't earth-shattering to many of you, we all juggle our own schedules, kids, pets, careers - but man, it was just about enough to do me in. And I'm not one to complain about being busy - I thrive on it. I love to be busy. For me, busy represents a full, happy life.
But, man.
Is it bad that my first thought is, "When am I going to have time to bake? To blog?" I need those things (and you guys) in my life, so lets just say that I've recently invested in some good photography equipment that will let me photograph my recipes at 2am if need be. Who needs sleep, right?
So yes, life is a bit busy right now, but I promise I will do my best to stay with you during the next few weeks and share as much as I can. And really, since I bake when I'm stressed, I might even blog more than usual. You know, to simplify things. Makes sense, no?
Sensible or not, this exact tart was the result of a late-night "stress-bake." My latest copy of America's Test Kitchen was staring at me one night, so it just happened. And I'm glad it did because it is just fantastic. Clearly I'm a lemon-fan (the fruit is the namesake for my blog, after all) but I actually find it pretty difficult to find a good lemon recipe. Since lemon recipes always rely heavily on egg yolks, it's hard to find a lemony dessert that doesn't taste like eggs. This one, though, is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
And because the perfect lemon tart wasn't enough, I whipped up a fresh blackberry syrup reduction to drizzle over the top. (And maybe I made blackberry martinis after that, but a stress-martini session is on an entirely different level than a stress-baking session, so we'll just stick with the baking portion here okthankyouverymuch.)
Anyway.
I could (and did) drink the blackberry syrup straight. Amazing. Like, best-thing-EVER, amazing. I even made my girls a blackberry italian soda with a bit of cream and holy cow. Even if you don't like lemon, just try the syrup and find something, ANYTHING, to drizzle it on. Pancakes, waffles, toast, whatever. So. GOOD.
Because this is an America's Test Kitchen recipe, you know it's going to be amazing, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Their recipe is fantastic and self-explanatory, but here are a few of my tips that I found useful while I was making it:
- I used a rectangle tart pan, but if you have one of the 9-inch pans, that works too.
- A candy thermometer is very helpful to achieve the perfect consistency. They are relatively inexpensive and I use mine all of the time.
- Don't overbake your crust. Go for a pale, golden brown color. Overbaking will yield a crispy crust, I aimed for soft and crumbly.
- Dust with some powdered sugar for a pretty effect.
- Make sure your dough is thoroughly chilled before rolling, and roll it quickly. It's a very delicate dough.
- Cut it into triangles. It's pretty.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Enjoy!
Lemon Tart with Blackberry Syrup
