Le Pain Quotidien (508 Eglinton Ave. W., Toronto, 416-485-3000) is part of a worldwide chain known for its excellent bread, croissants and the communal table down the centre. We adapted this lovely, lemony tart from their original French recipe; it is different from the version used at the Toronto location.

Fromage blanc, also known as quark, is a fresh cheese with the consistency of thick yogurt. If you can't find it, use a mixture of light cream cheese (it should be the soft deli-style cream cheese) thinned with plain yogurt. The pastry recipe makes enough for 2 tart shells. Refrigerate the extra dough for up to a week, or freeze until needed.

Pastry:

14 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1¼ cups icing sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2/3 cup ground almonds

Pinch salt

21/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg white

1 ounce (30 grams) white chocolate, melted

Filling:

¾ cup whipping cream

¾ cup sugar

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup full-fat fromage blanc

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 large eggs

3 egg yolks

Place butter, icing sugar, lemon rind, ground almonds, salt and flour into a mixer with a paddle attachment and blend for 1 minute or until butter is cut in and mixture has a sand-like texture. Add egg white and mix until dough just begins to come together. Knead dough into a ball, divide in half and wrap each piece in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Remove pastry from refrigerator and roll out to ¼-inch thickness on a floured work surface. Line a 9-inch tart pan with a removable base with the pastry. Use your fingers or leftover bits to seal any cracks - the pastry is fairly forgiving.

Cover pastry with parchment or foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, remove beans and parchment and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven, leave pastry to cool then brush inside of pastry base with a thin layer of melted white chocolate.

Place cream, sugar, lemon juice, fromage blanc, lemon rind, eggs and egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Whiz for 20 seconds.

Pour cream filling into a small thick-bottomed pan and heat over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until the mixture reaches 200 F (this is just below the boiling point). When the mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat and continue to stir. Pour into the pastry base.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes then chill for at least 1 hour. Serves 6 to 8.