Lemon Crème Brûlée Tart

1. Stage

Pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and salt for crust in a food processor to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Mix egg yolks and lemon juice together in a small bowl; pour in through the chute and process until dough forms into a ball.

2. Stage

Use floured hands to remove crust mixture and press into two 9-inch tart or pie pans, covering the bottoms and up the sides. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Stage

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Remove crusts from the oven and line with foil and pie weights.

4. Stage

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and loosely cover the crust edges with foil. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake for 15 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

5. Stage

While the crusts are cooling, prepare filling: Remove lemon zest in strips with from both lemons with a vegetable peeler. Set lemons aside for another use. Place zest in a medium saucepan with cream, milk, and vanilla paste; bring to a simmer, then turn off heat and cover.

6. Stage

Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a 5-quart pot. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice together in a heat-proof bowl over the water until sugar has dissolved; make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Stir with a heat-resistant spatula until mixture is thick and pale yellow, with a consistency of heavy cream, about 8 minutes.

7. Stage

Slowly stir in heavy cream-lemon zest mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until custard thickly coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read between 195 and 200 degrees F (91 to 93 degrees C).

8. Stage

Dissolve gelatin in water in a small bowl. Stir gelatin mixture into the custard and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes. Strain custard through a fine sieve into a 2-quart measure. Pour into the cooled crusts and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

9. Stage

When ready to serve, sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar over each tart to within 1 inch of the outer edges. Brûlée with a torch until sugar bubbles and is caramelized. Refrigerate, uncovered, until topping hardens, about 10 minutes, before serving.