How Sweet It Is: above, agnès b. at age 14, and the tarte au citron recipe her mother used to make. The French designer has collaborated with the West Broadway restaurant, Maman, in New York, to celebrate the Fashion Week season. |
what could be more tempting than a sweet french pastry baked with love, a fashion-lover's eye and a pinch of nostalgia?This month, French designer agnès b. has teamed with the New York restaurant, Maman, to recreate a special family recipe in celebration of Fashion Week – and, naturally, it looks as chic as it is sweet. “My mother liked to cook, it was the time when she was most relaxed. She was great at making lemon tart, what we called the ‘Bonne Douce,’ a nickname taken from a Romain Gary book, and the name she chose to be called by her grandchildren," the designer said in a statement. "Madame Colette, our seamstress, would come to our house once a week. She would sew dresses for my mother and my sister, but rarely for me. It was when my mother would make her famous lemon tart. I have never eaten something so delicious!" See below for the recipe: |
“Bonne Douce” Tarte au Citron
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![]() “[My mother] would cover the crust with beans so that it wouldn’t curl, then put in the oven until golden and crunchy. She then added the filling, a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, lemon and flour. She cooked it fifteen minutes and added the beaten egg whites on top. She also added zest to give it acidity and to enhance the taste of the lemon. It's a recipe that all the women in my family - my sisters, my daughters, my nieces - pass on." |