Lemon and lime custard tart

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 1 tart, you will need:

• 1 350 g Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
• 2 450 g Lemon Confectioner's Custard
• 3 450 g Lime confectioner's custard (pastry cream)
• 4 ½ lemon (optional)
• 5 ½ lime (optional)
• 6 100 g caster sugar (optional)
• 7 20 g water (optional)
• 8 20 g apricot glaze (optional)
• Total weight: 1,250 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
1 hour 13 min.	1 hour	1 hour	3 hours 13 min.

Step by step recipe

• 1: Roll out 350 g Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée) and line the tin or mould, following these tips.
  Instead of a tin, here I am using a dessert ring 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and 2 inches (5 cm) tall. This is in keeping with the French tradition of a "flan": small and fairly deep.
• 2: Prepare 450 g Lemon Confectioner's Custard, then 450 g Lime confectioner's custard (pastry cream).
  Note: For convenience, these two custards can be prepared the day before.
  Pour the lime custard into the pastry case and spread in as even a layer as possible, using the back of a tablespoon, for example.
• 3: Pour the lemon confectioner's custard on top and smooth the surface.
• 4: Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C). Bake the tart for about 50 minutes.
  Do keep an eye on how both the top of the custard and the pastry are browning, and vary the cooking time if necessary.
• 5: Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then remove the dessert ring and refrigerate the tart overnight.
  Warning: the tart will still be very fragile at this stage, so you will need to manipulate it with great care to avoid it breaking.
• 6: If you would like an attractive decoration for your tart, cut a few thin slices of lemon and lime. Give them a light candied finish by simmering in 100 g caster sugar with 20 g water on very low heat for about 10 minutes.
• 7: Remove the slices from the syrup and leave to dry on a
  wire rack or a sheet of cooking parchment.
• 8: Arrange a few slices of candied lemon and lime on top of your tart, after glazing (if desired) with a brush just beforehand.
• 9: Serve cool, but not (too) cold.

Remarks

If you make the custards the day before (or even earlier), as suggested in stage 2, loosen them by adding 2 tablespoonsful of fresh cream and whisking in vigorously before pouring into the pastry case.
This tart is a fairly luxurious version, with its sweetcrust pastry case, but there's no reason you couldn't use a simpler pastry, such as plain shortcrust.
If you would rather have the green layer on top, simply pour the custards into the case the other way round.
For a smoother, richer version, replace half the milk in the confectioner's custard recipe with cream.

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