Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart

This is month four of the Improv Cooking Challenge which is hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  This month I was super excited to participate as we were tasked to use two of my favorite ingredients, lemon and sour cream.  How the challenge works is, each month the participating bloggers are given two ingredients and asked to make any recipe of their choosing which contains those two ingredients.  Well I have been looking forward to this month because not only are lemon & sour cream personal favorites but for almost a year I’ve been itching to make this tart from Mary’s blog, One Perfect Bite and this was the perfect opportunity.  I have previously cooked from Mary’s blog with great success, when I made Stir-Fried Asparagus with Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Cashews so had high hopes for this recipe.  This tart not only lived up to my expectations but it far exceeded them.  This tart was absolutely delicious and both Eammon and I couldn’t stop eating it and the entire tart barely lasted a day.  Okay I did share a couple of slices with some friends, who also loved it but Eammon and I managed to polish off the lion’s share.

Quite fortuitously this ponderous Ponderosa lemon magically appeared on my doorstep just a couple of days before I made my tart.

This gorgeous almost 2 1/2 pound Ponderosa lemon was a surprise gift from fellow bloggers Alyson & Ford.  It was a great treat as I’ve never heard of nor tried this lemon before and not only did it have wonderful flavor but this baby gave me two full cups of juice!

Mary said in her post “The crust is as negotiable as your standards. It need not be homemade and a really good commercial crust or puff pastry will work just fine.”   I debated on the crust for a while, undecided on whether to go with a graham cracker, shortbread or just a pie crust…until I remembered that I had some homemade pie crust dough in the freezer so easy-peasy I went that route.

This tart was super simple to make and oh-so delicious. The lemon & sour cream together were gorgeous and the tart was tangy, creamy and silky smooth, just pure perfection. This tart will be made again and again as this was a winning recipe.

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter

Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart  (from here) 

1 9-inch pie or tart crust
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 TBS finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup milk
4 TBS butter
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a tart pan with pastry and trim edges.  Prick the bottom & sides with a fork.  Bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

In a saucier combine the cornstarch, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolks and milk.  Cook on medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.  Stir in the butter until fully combined and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Stir in sour cream and pour filling into the tart shell.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  The tart can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.  Top with fresh lemon zest, berries or whipped cream.

Enjoy!