Meyer Lemon Custard Tart

For Pi Day (3/14) this year, I wanted to bake a pie to bring to work to celebrate. I love lemons and decided to make a meyer lemon custard to fill a tart, following this recipe!

I made the pastry dough by mixing 1-1/2 sticks of butter with 1/2 cup of sugar with an electric hand mixer, and added a splash of vanilla. In a separate bowl, I mixed together 1-3/4 cups of flour with a pinch of salt, and then slowly mixed it into the butter and sugar mixture. After shaping the dough flat, I pressed it into a large pie tin and chilled it for an hour.

I used mini pie tins to use the remainder of the dough and filling. To prep the pie shells, I buttered aluminum foil (buttered-side down) on top of the pastry dough, and baked it in a 350º oven for 20 minutes under the weight of some rice. I removed the rice and foil, poked the pastry with a fork, and baked for another 20 minutes.

Meanwhile... the filling!

I made the batter by zesting a lemon and using an electric hand mixer to cream it with a stick of butter and a cup of sugar. I added in 4 eggs, one at a time, and squeezed in 1/2 cup of lemon juice and added a dash of salt.

After all was mixed together, I heated the lemon mixture in a small pot over low heat while stirring constantly to make a curd. It is very important to keep mixing so that the mixture does not boil. It took about 15 minutes to cook until the curd was thick enough, I love the creamy yellow color.

I poured the curd over the baked pie crust and let it set overnight.

I'm glad I had enough leftover mixture to make mini pies. I love their cute little shapes! And they make the perfect bite-sized snack.

Here's the finished pie that I brought to work:

Have a delicious pi day!
<3 Mandy