My Dorie Greenspan Baking Adventure: Tackling the Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Another Tuesday has arrived, marking another delightful occasion to dive into the world of Dorie Greenspan’s incredible recipes. For those unfamiliar, Tuesdays with Dorie is a beloved community of bakers who regularly explore recipes from Dorie’s cookbooks, sharing their experiences, triumphs, and sometimes, their unexpected detours. This week was certainly one for the books, filled with both initial excitement and a valuable lesson in kitchen adaptability.
The original plan, chosen by Madam Chow, was to embark on making Dorie’s Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. My heart soared at the prospect; it had been an incredibly long time since I’d last ventured into the satisfying realm of bun-making. The thought of warm, gooey, nutty sticky buns fresh from the oven was truly inspiring. However, as I began to scan the recipe, a significant hurdle emerged almost immediately: the brioche dough. Dorie’s brioche is legendary, and for good reason. It’s a rich, buttery, and incredibly tender dough that requires extensive mixing – typically a job best suited for a powerful stand mixer. And here’s where my first rule-bending moment of the week began.
The Stand Mixer Dilemma: Why Brioche Needs Power
You see, I do not own a stand mixer. Now, many recipes can be tackled with a simple hand mixer, and for years, it has served me well. But the brioche recipe for those Pecan Honey Sticky Buns explicitly warned against using a hand mixer, stating it could easily burn out the motor. It recommended either a stand mixer or the strenuous, time-consuming process of kneading by hand. My family had only recently invested in a new hand mixer after our trusty old one – a relic passed down from my parents that had faithfully served for over 30 years – finally gave up the ghost. I simply wasn’t willing to risk the demise of our shiny new appliance, especially for a dough renowned for being tough on machinery.
Understanding the science behind brioche makes this caution perfectly clear. Brioche dough is exceptionally rich, containing a high percentage of butter and eggs. This richness makes the dough very soft and sticky initially, requiring a substantial amount of kneading to properly develop its gluten structure. This development is crucial for achieving that characteristic light, airy, yet tender crumb. A stand mixer, with its powerful motor and dough hook attachment, is designed to handle this demanding task, consistently working the dough until it transforms into a smooth, elastic masterpiece. Attempting this with a standard hand mixer would place undue strain on its motor, potentially leading to overheating and irreparable damage. While hand kneading is a viable, traditional method, it demands significant arm strength, patience, and a considerable time commitment – often 20-30 minutes of continuous, vigorous work. Given my limited time and a desire to preserve my new kitchen gadget, a different path was needed.
A Fortuitous Pivot: Embracing the Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
With sticky buns momentarily off the menu, I quickly pivoted. I decided to explore past Dorie Greenspan recipes that might suit my current kitchen setup and, crucially, utilize ingredients I already had on hand. As fate would have it, I had three vibrant lemons sitting in my fruit bowl, practically begging to be transformed. This led me to a recipe I’d long admired: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. The name alone promised something special, and with lemons aplenty, it felt like a perfectly serendipitous choice.
Or rather, it was destined to be a pie, as I do not own a tart pan. But a pie or a tart, the essence of that bright, tangy, and incredibly smooth lemon cream was what truly captivated me. My excitement, momentarily deflated by the brioche challenge, quickly rekindled. A lemon cream tart (or pie) sounded like the perfect antidote to a gloomy day and a wonderful way to still participate in the spirit of Tuesdays with Dorie, even if it meant bending the rules once more regarding the chosen recipe.
The Baking Journey: Navigating the Lemon Cream’s Challenges
The recipe itself, found in Dorie’s acclaimed cookbook Baking: From My Home To Yours (2006, p.331), appeared straightforward enough on paper. However, as many bakers know, theory and practice can sometimes diverge. My journey with this “Extraordinary” tart proved to be a learning experience, underscoring the delicate balance required in precise baking.
The Elusive 180°F: A Battle with the Double Boiler
One of the most frequently cited challenges for this recipe, and one I unfortunately encountered firsthand, was getting the lemon cream to reach and maintain the crucial temperature of 180°F (approximately 82°C). This temperature is vital for thickening the cream properly, allowing the egg proteins to cook just enough to create a stable, velvety consistency without curdling. I meticulously followed the instructions for using a double boiler, setting up a heat-proof bowl over simmering water.
However, this setup presented its own set of minor frustrations. As the water simmered below, it would occasionally boil a little too vigorously, threatening to spill over into my precious lemon mixture. Next time, a deeper pan for the bottom of the double boiler is definitely on my list of adjustments to prevent this near-spill scenario. More significantly, the recipe calls for constant whisking for a good 10-20 minutes, depending on how quickly your cream reaches the target temperature. This was a true arm workout! My whisking arm felt like it had run a marathon, a testament to the dedication required for achieving that perfectly smooth cream. Despite my best efforts and persistent whisking, I suspect I didn’t quite maintain the 180°F for long enough, or perhaps my thermometer reading was slightly off, as the cream, while thickening, didn’t reach the robust consistency I had hoped for.
Butter, Butter Everywhere: A Matter of Taste
Another point of contention for my family and me was the sheer quantity of butter in the recipe. While butter contributes immensely to the richness and luxurious mouthfeel of a cream, the original recipe called for an amount that, in our household’s opinion, was simply too much to comfortably stomach. After tasting, we found it overwhelmed the bright lemon notes rather than complementing them. This is a common aspect of adapting recipes: personal taste plays a huge role. Next time, I am resolute in my plan to cut the butter quantity in half initially and then taste as I go, adding more only if absolutely necessary to achieve the desired texture without compromising on the delightful lemon tang.
The Final Set: A Cream That Needed More Convincing
Although my lemon cream did thicken somewhat after spending time chilling in the refrigerator, it wasn’t quite enough to hold its shape independently within the pie crust. It had a lovely texture for a sauce or a looser pudding, but for a sliceable tart or pie, it lacked the necessary firmness. This, combined with my use of a regular pie pan instead of a shallower tart pan, meant the overall presentation and structure weren’t as pristine as Dorie’s original vision. This outcome truly highlighted that the “flop” was squarely due to the baker’s execution (mine!) and not a flaw in Dorie’s expertly crafted recipe. Her recipes are meticulously tested and yield fantastic results when followed precisely, especially regarding critical temperatures and mixing techniques.
Lessons Learned: Embracing the Imperfect Bake
Despite the less-than-perfect outcome, this baking adventure was incredibly valuable. It served as a powerful reminder of several key principles in the kitchen:
- Tool Limitations: Always respect the recommendations for kitchen appliances. A hand mixer cannot always substitute for a stand mixer, especially with demanding doughs like brioche.
- Precision is Paramount: Especially in baking, critical temperatures and timings are not mere suggestions. Investing in a reliable thermometer and ensuring consistent heat is crucial for success, particularly with egg-based creams.
- Adaptation for Taste: Recipes are wonderful guides, but they can and should be adapted to suit personal preferences. Don’t be afraid to adjust ingredients like butter or sugar after an initial taste test.
- Learning from “Flops”: Every bake, whether perfect or imperfect, offers an opportunity to learn and grow as a baker. What went wrong? How can I improve next time? These questions are key to culinary development.
- The Joy of the Journey: Even when the final product isn’t picture-perfect, the process of baking, the aroma filling the kitchen, and the sheer joy of creating something by hand are rewards in themselves.
I may not be posting the recipe here, primarily because I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my specific results (and I emphasize “my results,” not the recipe itself, which is undoubtedly excellent when executed correctly). However, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone with a penchant for baking to seek out this extraordinary recipe. You can find “The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart” on page 331 of Dorie Greenspan’s classic cookbook, Baking: From My Home To Yours, published in 2006. It’s a journey worth taking, even if it comes with a few unexpected turns and valuable lessons along the way. My next Dorie adventure awaits, perhaps with a newfound respect for my double boiler and a more vigilant eye on the thermometer!