Meyer Lemons!!! Yaaaaay!!!!!

I found Meyer Lemons totally at random this weekend, in the Ottawa region of all places!

I am NOT KIDDING when I confess that my eyes got wide as I snatched the single remaining bag of Meyer Lemons off the display table, pressed them to my heart as I squeaked (yes, *squeaked*), and then growled, "MINE."

My sister, who was with me at the time, was a little concerned for my mental health.
She just doesn't appreciate the POWER of the Meyer Lemon!

Now, what shall I make with these little jewels of floral, lemony awesomeness?

Should I attempt those delicious Pierre Herme Meyer Lemon Tarts I posted about last month? Or something else just as lovely?

Maybe I could make this scrummy Meyer Lemon Bliss Cake from the recipes of King Arthur Flour? I trust this website's recipes absolutely; I've had a serious hankering to visit their store/factory in Vermont for several years now...and come back with my car bursting with their flours and other awesome products!

Or these divine Meyer Lemon Thyme Pots de Creme with Lemon Sugar, from the TasteFood blog?
A pot de creme is the closest I will ever come to consuming pudding; the texture of pudding usually makes me want to hurl, but there's something about the silky lusciousness of a well-made PDC that short-circuits that part of my brain from forming the word NO, and allows me to enjoy it!

Or this AMAZING looking Meyer Lemon Parfait from the Lark cookbook blog? This cooking/baking team really have professional plating down to a science; as humans usually "eat with their eyes" first (meaning if it doesn't look delicious, it's harder to convince our brains that it's safe to consume), these incredible food pictures practically encourage me to lick the computer monitor!

Or maybe a delicious Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake with a Citrus Vanilla glaze is the way to go, from the blog, Spoonforkbacon?

This recipe looks so homey and country-style, I want to make some tea to go with this cake, and then invite a bunch of women over for a quilting bee or something.

Maybe I should just go for the simple yet lip-smacking tastiness that are these Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies, from the food/photography/travel blog, White On Rice Couple.

These cookies look like they're crispy on the outside, yet maybe a tad chewy on the inside, and full of Meyer Lemon tartness.  I could probably inhale a dozen of these in one sitting and not even notice I'd eaten so many...

...though I *am* leaning towards these scrumptious looking Meyer Lemon Brown Butter Cookies with a Cream Cheese glaze/frosting, from the food blog, Bake at 350...

While I'm not a "soft" cookie fan (as opposed to a chewy cookie fan, of which I definitely am!), these cakey cookies look and sound delicious, especially with the inclusion of brown butter.  Brown butter is supposed to be super-bad for us, but a little is probably ok...and I'm willing to risk the arteriosclerosis just to try one of these!




So I guess what I've learned here is that one bag of Meyer Lemons is Not. Nearly. Enough.

...but it's better than ZERO bags of Meyer Lemons.

Whatever I decide to make, I'll be sure to post the recipe and pictures! Wish me luck!

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Tarts

I had soooo hoped to find the time (and the lemons!!!) to make these Pierre Hermé Meyer Lemon Tarts for my own wedding dessert table back in August of this year, but events conspired against me (damn you, Whole Foods!), and now I am awaiting for Meyer Lemon season to come back around to make them for myself and my loved ones.

For those who are not pastry geeks like myself, Pierre Hermé is an absolute legend in the world of pastry; still going strong in his 50's, Hermé is best known worldwide for his perfect macarons and his gorgeous chocolate confections, but pretty much everything he makes is divine. One of my dreams is to go back to Paris and visit each of his 10 confectionery shops there, buying and trying a few somethings from each boutique, then photographing it and blogging about it (oh God, I'm the Baking Hipster!!! auughhhh!)

...ok, I'm going to need a minute to get over that image....

Back to the blog at hand...!

So you may be asking, just what makes a Meyer Lemon Tart so different from a regular lemon tart?  Well, I could be a jerk and tell you it's the Meyer Lemons, duh, but in all seriousness, it *is* exactly that. The best way to describe Meyer lemons is that they are a fascinating cross between the sourness of a lemon and the floral notes of an orange, so that they are not exactly one or the other, but very much their own thing.  The rind of a Meyer lemon is a deeper yellow, and the scent is to die for.  I've definitely scrubbed, zested, and juiced my share of Meyer lemons in my day -- boxes upon boxes of them -- but even so, I'm not tired of them and would use them every day in every way I could if I had a reliable and affordable supply of them.

So, until Meyer Lemon season comes around again in my little corner of the world (which is around August for me), I figure, why make you wait for this fabulous recipe in the meantime?  I promise that when I have access to more Meyer Lemons, I'll make up this recipe, and probably a few more as well!

Meyer Lemon Tart 

Source: Pierre Herme

Pate Sucree Base:

Yield: three 10 ½ “ crusts or four 8” crusts, or eight 4” crusts

• 300g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 190g powdered sugar
• 60g ground almonds
• 1 vanilla bean, scrapped
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 500g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

Lemon Cream:

• 200 g whole eggs (4 eggs)
• 240 g granulated sugar
• 160 g fresh Meyer lemon juice
• zest from about 5 Meyer lemons
• 300 g unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed

Base:

1. Put the butter in a mixer bowl and cream until smooth and creamy using a paddle attachment.
2. Add the sugar, ground almonds, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix until combined.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating the previous one before adding the next one (the dough might look curdled at this point but don't worry, it'll come together once you add the flour).
4. Combine the flour and salt. Add to the dough in about three addition. Mix until just it comes together. Do not overwork! Like Pierre said, "it's better to have lumps of butter rather than to have an overworked dough".
5. Divide the dough in the portions you need. Form each one into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight (you can also freeze the dough at this point and thaw it in the fridge overnight).
6. Remove one disk from the fridge, and roll it either between two sheets of parchment paper, or just well-floured surface. You need to move quickly though. You don't want the dough to be soft and overworked.
7. Line your tart pan with the dough and put it back in the fridge for at least 1-2 hrs to rest.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
9. When you're ready to bake, put a parchment paper on top of the dough and fill the bottom with either rice or beans.
10. Bake for 20 minutes. Take the parchment paper and the beans/rice off, then continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes until it's golden brown.
11. Let cool in the ring.

Lemon Cream:

1. Rub the zest with the sugar using your finger until the sugar is moistened with lemon oil.
2. On a double boiler, combine the sugar, eggs and juice.
3. Whisk/stir constantly until the mixture reaches 85-86 C.
4. Strain the mixture and let cool to about 55-60 C and put it in a blender (if you don't have a hand-held blender)
5. Add the butter a couple of pieces at a time, to make an emulsion. The mixture will lighten in color. Continue running the blender for a few minutes after all of the butter has been added to ensure the airy and light cream. Make sure stop and run the blender a few times to avoid over-heating.
6. Pour the mixture into prepared crust and refrigerate.