Lemon Cheese Tarts (1951)

Lemon Cheese for Tart Shells

Fill tart shells with lemon cheese made by mixing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook this in double boiler, stirring, until very thick and smooth.  Cool and fill the baked tart shells with the mixture, and top with toasted almond slivers or thick sour cream.

The English fill tart shells with the lemon mixture before baking (20 minutes) and call the result Lemon Cheese-Cakes. 

Tart Shell Pastries

Make tart shells on the bottoms of small tart pans. For the pastry, cut 1/3 cup each of butter and lard into 2 cups of flour and one teaspoon of salt.  Leave shortening in fairly good-sized pellets, and add enough water to barely hold the mixture together.  

Bake in a hot oven and cool slightly before removing shells from the pans.  

(Origin - "The Patio Cook Book" by Helen Evans Brown. Published by The Ward Ritchie Press, 1951. Aside: Helen Evans Brown was a noted culinary expert in the 1950s until her death in 1964, and was a close collaborator and confidante to James Beard.)