low-fat Tarte au Citron

I have been searching for a low-fat lemon tart recipe for quite sometime. Then, I found a "relatively" low-fat recipe for my favourite lemon tart from the BBC GoodFood website. 

I amended the recipe for my convenience. As you see in my version below, there is no waste of egg yolk or egg white. I sometimes get annoyed when I come across a recipe that has lots of egg white or egg yoke left over.   This is a very tangy, incredibly lemony tart. I love a lemony flavour, so it suits me very well. :) 

Ingredients 

For pastry

• 50g butter , cut in pieces
• 140g plain flour
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg yolk

For filling

• 3 eggs , plus 1 egg white
• 140g icing sugar , plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
• 125ml lemon juice (from 3 lemons plus bottled lemon juice)
• 200ml tub half-fat crème fraîche

Method

1. Rub the butter into the flour until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar, then make a well and use a round-bladed knife to stir in the oil, egg yolk and 1½-2 tbsp cold water until the dough comes together. Without overhandling, gather into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll out so it fits a 23 x 2cm loose-bottom flan tin. Ease the pastry into the tin, then trim the edges by rolling the rolling pin over the top. Press the pastry into the flutes so it sits very slightly proud of the edge (this extra height helps in case of any shrinkage). Lightly prick the pastry base with a fork, then chill for about 10 mins. Heat the oven to 190C / 170C fan / gas 5.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat the eggs and egg whites together with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then gradually beat in the eggs. If the mix is at all lumpy, simply beat with a wire whisk. Stir in the lemon zest and the juice. Leave to stand so the lemon flavour can develop.
3. Sit the chilled pastry case on a baking sheet. Line with baking parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 15 mins until well set. Carefully lift out the beans and paper, then bake the pastry case for another 3-5 mins until the base is cooked and pale golden. (I pre-baked the pastry without using baking parchment and baking beans for 15 minutes). 
4. Strain the lemon mixture through a sieve. Beat the crème fraîche in a medium bowl until smooth, then slowly stir in the lemon mix until well blended. Transfer to a jug, then carefully pour two thirds into the warm pastry case. Place in the oven with the oven shelf half out, pour in the rest of the filling, then carefully slide the shelf back in. Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Bake for 25-30 mins until barely set with a slight wobble in the middle. Cool for about 1 hr, then serve with a light dusting of icing sugar. Best eaten the same day.