My brother Robert sends me a big box of fat and juicy Meyer lemons from his trees every November.   Like 15 of them, nestled into packing material with stems and leaves attached, fresh from his tree! The box releases a cloud of lemon scent when I carefully slice the packing tape open. November and December are the season of perfect Meyer ripeness. Meyer lemons are a cook’s dream.  Their flavor is sweeter than store lemons; not all that tart, with a gorgeous floral scent, perfect in cookies like the lemon squares everyone loves, which I make gf now a days. I also make lemon meringue pie, lemon marmalade, lemonade and this delicate yet gorgeous buttermilk tart.  Which I am sharing with you today.

It is very easy to construct; I use a shortbread cookie style, gf, press and bake crust and the filling is just whisked together and poured into the partially baked crust.  Be sure to use a fine grater to carefully remove all of the lemon peel onto a slice of wax paper before you halve it to make the juice for the filling.  I used one big fat lemon plus a little bit more; 2 medium sized ones will work great.

So easy to bake up and it is perfect with a big spoonful of fresh real whipped cream.  Sometimes I lay slices of Meyer lemon down the length of it when I use my special rectangular tart pan.  Sensational looking and just as yummy as it looks.  A round tart pan works great too. I have used a regular gf pie crust which is a tasty alternative to the cookie crust.

You could make it with regular lemons but I suspect it would need more sugar to make it sweet enough as Meyer lemons are far sweeter than the grocery store lemons.  I think a few places may carry Meyer lemons; check at Wegmans. If you want to use all purpose flour in your crust and in the filling – go right ahead.  I have been making this tart since long before I went gluten free: simple, tasty, and impressive looking – tart perfection!

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

Cookie Tart Crust

1 cup brown rice flour mixture (recipe below)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

5 tbsp. cold butter cut up into 6 or 7 chunks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3 tsp. water

Mix the dry ingredients in your stand mixer, add the butter, blend with the paddle blade until the butter is small pebbles.  Add the vanilla and water.  Press into a tart pan with a removable bottom, be sure to first spray the pan with cooking spray. Don’t press too hard or you will over compact the crust and it will lose the delicate texture that makes it delightful.

  Bake 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Cool 10-20 minutes before filling and baking.

Filling

¾ cup buttermilk: let it warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before mixing

½ cup granulated sugar

2 lg eggs, warm them close to room temperature

6 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

2 tbsp flour (I use sweet rice but you wheat can use white rice flour)

2 tbsp finely grated Meyer lemon peel

——————–

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake ten inch tart crust for 10 min

Cool at least ten minutes before filling

Mix all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth.  Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 min; until just barely set.  Cool completely and refrigerate until chilled.  Can decorate tart with thin slices of Meyer lemon tart. Serve slices topped with a dollop of this lightly sweetened cream.

Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat cream, add powdered sugar.  Serve a dollop with each slice of tart.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Filling recipe modified slightly from one on food network.com, flour mix and crust from Annalise Roberts, Gluten – Free Baking Classics.