Lemon Tart

This sweet bright classic Lemon Tart with soft lemon curd filling and buttery crumbly crust is definitely a total melt-in-your-mouth experience. Add this easy treat to your arsenal of sweet, summery, bright, and sensational comfort food right away!

Contents… Classic Lemon Tart Pies vs Tarts Recipe Ingredients Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs More Easy Desserts How To Make Lemon Tart Watch How To Make It

If you’re like me, with a fruity sweet tooth just waiting to sink into some delicious desserts, then this one’s for you. What I love about this easy lemon tart recipe is that you can play around with the toppings so you can serve both beautiful and delicious desserts. And I want to share that same experience with you, too!

Classic Lemon Tart 

Tarte Au Citron is the French name for Lemon Tart, which during the old times, was served to a king as a token that symbolizes prosperity and integrity. The classic lemon tart consists of lemon-flavored filling and a crumbly-textured shortcrust pastry.

Pies vs Tarts

A tart is a culinary term derived from the French “Tarte” which literally translates to pie. (Whaaat?? Okay, keep reading.) However, there is a distinctive difference between the two.

A tart is made out of 3 parts which are the shortbread crust, the filling, and the toppings which totally depends on your preference. In a nutshell, pies are covered with a thin sheet of dough while tarts are open and topped with fruits. 

Recipe Ingredients

This pastry may look that daunting to make, but it’s actually easier than you think it is. Here’s what you need for this summer treat.

• Tart Crust – rich in flavor because of its butter content. It has a coarse texture when made which you can easily press on to baking pans to mold it.

Lemon Curd

• Lemon – use around  4 pieces, then zest it first before juicing to make the most out of it! And of course, it gives the overall citrusy flavor for this tart.
• Granulated Sugar – a staple ingredient in every dessert, pastry, and baking. It adds a nice sweetness to it and that lovely golden brown caramelization.
• Salt – this adds flavor to the crust and also enhances the sweet and tangy flavors of the lemon curd.
• Unsalted Butter – cut it into small pieces so it’d easily blend in when making the lemon curd. I used unsalted butter because, yep you’ve guessed it, coz we already have salt in the recipe.
• Eggs – it gives a rich flavor and binds the ingredients for making the lemon curd filling. But always make sure to keep them at room temperature. See “Tips And Tricks” section below.

Recipe Variations 

1. Jam Tart – use jam instead of fresh fruits as the filling. Baking this will make the sugars in the jam caramelize; slightly giving you a sweeter taste.
2. Meringue Tart – with its cloudy fluffy soft topping and custardy filling, this dessert is best served during the holidays. What I personally like about this variant is the slightly burnt meringue topping that really brings out a caramel delight. 
3. Tartlet – is a miniature version of the regular pastry. It’s usually a bite-sized cup with tasty fillings. So if you want to showcase your crust instead,  this is the best option because it often comes with a larger crust to filling ratio.

Tips and Tricks

1. Eggs should be at room temperature. This is to easily incorporate the eggs with other ingredients.
2. Use cling wrap for storing the curd. Using a cling wrap to cover the surface of the curd ensures that there is no space between the two. This will prevent the top layer of the curd to oxidize creating a skin or a layer of dried curd.
3. Eat it while it’s freshly made. Tarts are best consumed the day it is made. So don’t let it sit out on the table for far too long!
4. Whisking. The smooth custardy texture of this lemon tart can be achieved by whisking constantly until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
5. Don’t let the Lemon Curd boil. Letting your curd boil will result in a curdled texture and that leaves a bad texture on your mouth.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Freezer

1. Unbaked Crust – form it to tart crust shapes by gently pressing the dough onto the baking pan then freeze it for 3 months. This solidifies the butter making a sturdier crust.
2. Lemon Curd – The right way to freeze it is to let it rest until it reaches room temperature, especially when using a sealed container as this might create moisture for bacterial growth. This will make your filling last for up to 2 months when properly done. Simply thaw it out and use it immediately when ready. 
3. Baked Lemon Tart – transfer it in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag then keep frozen for 1 month.

Refrigerator

1. Baked Lemon Tart – transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and keep refrigerated for 2 days.
2. Lemon Curd – for the leftover curd, you can store it in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated for up to 4 weeks.
3. Tart Dough – wrap it with cling wrap and transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated for 3 days.

Reheating

Before reheating it, you must make sure to set the lemon tart is at room temperature. Then bake it in a 240℉ preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until warm. Serve and enjoy!

FAQs

More Easy Desserts

• Lemon Bar 
• Milk Tart
• Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake 
• Fruit Tart

How To Make Lemon Tart

Tart Crust

• Make the tart crust. Prepare your homemade tart crust in the pie/tart pan. See the full recipe and instructions here 一Tart Crust. (Photos 1-4)
• Bake the tart crust. While baking the crust, you can now start preparing the lemon curd filling.

Lemon Curd Filling

• Cook the lemon and butter mixture. In a medium saucepan, combine lemon juice and zest, sugar, salt, and butter.  Place the saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, and butter melted. Set aside. (Photos 1-2)
• Temper the egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and egg yolks until blended. Temper the egg mixture by adding a little of the butter mixture to the eggs. You do not want to cook the eggs.  (Photos 3-5)
• Add the tempered egg mixture to the butter mixture. Return tempered egg mixture to saucepan, and place over low heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency; do not let it boil, or the lemon curd will curdle. Remove from heat and continue to stir to stop the cooking. (Photo 6)
• Transfer the lemon curd to a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let it cool for at least an hour. (Or you can store it at this point in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Lemon Tart Assembly

• Fill the tart crust with lemon curd and chill. Once it has cooled down at room temperature, fill the baked tart crust with the lemon curd and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until the curd is chilled. (Photos 1-3)
• Add the toppings. You can cover it with powdered sugar and top it with your favorite berries. (Photo 4)

Watch How to Make it

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This blog post was first published in August 2020 and has been updated with additional tips and a video.