I had some lemon filling/curd left over after making my kolaches last weekend. I also had some frozen pastry kicking around the chest freezer that wanted to be used. It wasn't the "rich sweet shortcrust pastry" called for by the recipe, but I'm not really bothered by that. I don't generally find sweet shortcrust worth the extra effort. (And neither does anyone else if North American recipes and grocery stores are anything to judge by. Recipes here don't tend to call for sweet shortcrust and grocery stores don't sell it. I could make it from scratch and I have done before but, as noted, I don't generally feel it's worth it. It doesn't make that much of a difference and it's a lot harder to handle than standard pie pastry.)

With the pastry and the lemon curd already sorted, this pie was pretty easy to throw together. The author calls it a cousin of the Bakewell Tart, and I can definitely see the family resemblance. The jam has been replaced with lemon curd over which a lemon-almond custard is poured. It doesn't have as strong an almond flavour as a standard Bakewell tart, but I enjoy the burst of lemon you get in its place. TF and the Kidlet both loved it as well.

The original recipe is written for a shallow 23cm (9") tart tin. I absent-mindedly grabbed my 9" American-style pie plate which is much deeper than the shallow tin called for. I ended up doubling the amount of lemon curd called for (1/2 c. rather than 1/4 c.) and used an extra tablespoon of brown sugar over it (2 Tbsp. vs. 1), but left the amount of almond custard the same. I'm happy with the results this gave me. You may want to adjust the proportions if you're using a different sized tin though.

Lancaster Tart, assembled and decorated by the Kidlet

Lancaster Tart

Slightly adapted form the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 175g of sweet shortcrust pastry
• 1/2 c. lemon curd
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• zest of 2 lemons
• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 150mL heavy (35%) cream
• 55g ground almonds
• 115g sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Blind bake your pie crust according to your favourite method.
2. Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).
3. Spread the lemon curd in the bottom of the baked pie shell.
4. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
5. Combine lemon zest, butter, cream, almonds, sugar, egg yolks, and egg and mix very well. (I used an immersion blender.)
6. Pour almond mixture into the pie shell and smooth the top.
7. Decorate with sliced almonds and/or any extra bits of pastry.
8. Bake at 170°C (325°F) for 40-50 minutes.
9. Warm with extra lemon curd and/or whipped cream.