Vegan Lemon Tart
Vegan lemon tart - this vegan version of a classic tarte au citron is tangy, creamy, intensely lemony and utterly delicious. It consists of a crisp pastry shell filled with a baked lemon custard; you would never be able to guess that it contains no eggs or dairy!
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) icing (powdered) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 150 g (5 ⅓ oz / ½ cup + 2Tbsp) vegan block butter/margarine (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli vegan block) cold and diced
- 1 tablespoon cold vodka (optional)
- ice water as needed
Filling:
- finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 250 ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice (from about 5-6 lemons)
- 225 g (8 oz) firm silken tofu (not regular tofu)*
- 180 g (¾ cup) coconut cream**
- 50 g (5 packed Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 50 g (1 ¾ oz / scant ¼ cup) vegan block butter/margarine ( I use Naturli Vegan Block) melted
- a pinch of ground turmeric (optional, for colour)
Instructions
- Start by making the pastry. Place the plain flour, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk to mix or place in a food processor and pulse until combined.
- Add the cold diced vegan block butter and rub it in using your fingers or blend with the food processor until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of fat remain.
- Add the tablespoon of cold vodka (or water) and mix; drizzle in a little cold water as needed to bring the pastry together into a ball.
- Cover the pastry and pop it in the fridge for half an hour until it has firmed up a bit.
- Once the pastry has chilled, roll it out thinly on a floured surface until it is large enough to line a 25cm/10 inch round tart tin.
- Gently transfer the pastry to the dish and press it right into the corners. Trim off the excess pastry and prick the base all over with a fork.
- Place the pastry base in the freezer for twenty minutes while you preheat the oven to 200°C/180° fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
- When the pastry is nice and cold, line it with tin foil, making sure that you press it right into the corners, then fill it with baking beans or dried rice. Make sure you spread them right into the corners.
- Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil and rice/beans and return the tart shell to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until it is pale golden and crisp. Turn the oven down to 180°C/160° fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- While the pastry is baking prepare the filling. Place the lemon juice, silken tofu, coconut cream, cornflour, sugar, melted butter and a pinch of ground turmeric in a blender and blitz until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Stir in the lemon zest.
- When the pastry case has finished baking, carefully pour in the filling and place it back in the oven.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the filling is set but still has a wobble. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely before refrigerating. Once cool, chill the tart for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- *You need to use firm silken tofu, NOT regular tofu. It is most commonly the shelf-stable kind, not the fridge kind. In the UK it can usually be found either in the ‘Asian’ section of the supermarket (by the soy sauce), or next to the tinned beans. I use Mori-Nu or Clearspring.
- **I use coconut cream from a carton (Blue Dragon brand, use only the solid white part) but you can also use just the solid white part from a tin of chilled full-fat coconut milk. The coconut cream can be swapped for Elmlea Plant double cream or a soy/oat/cashew cream.
- Ideally you should make this vegan lemon tart the day before you want to serve it as it needs to chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably longer.