Classic Lemon Tart is an elegant dessert that brings a tangy, yet sweet balance in each creamy bite. A great finishing touch to any meal.
Fresh Lemon Curd and fruit tarts are foundational Dessert recipes every aspiring baker learns to master early on. And this one is worth the effort.
Sabrina’s Lemon Tart Recipe
This creamy Lemon Tart is everything you need in one bite with a sweet, tangy filling and buttery crust. Just like other fruity baked goods, it gets even better with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve at your next dinner party for a show-stopping dessert people will think you picked up at a bakery. Make sure you don’t curdle your curd with my chef’s tip below.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Pâte Sucrée (Pastry Crust)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , very softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Lemon Filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , frozen and diced
Instructions
Pâte Sucrée (Pastry Crust):
- To your stand mixer add the softened butter and the powdered sugar and cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the egg yolk.
- On the lowest speed setting add in the flour, and salt until just combined.
- Remove the dough, place into a piece of plastic wrap, wrap tightly in a disk shape.
- Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9" tart pan with baking spray.
- Press the dough gently into your tart pan.
- Poke holes across the tart dough with a fork.
- Add a piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until barely browned at all, remove the crust from the oven and set aside. Remove the parchment and pie weights.
- Lower heat to 350 degrees.
Lemon Filling:
- In a large saucepan add 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, water, lemon juice and stirring well.
- Heat on medium-high and stir nonstop until mixture comes to a boil.
- Turn off and remove from heat, stir in butter and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add ½ cup of the heated lemon sugar mixture in a very thin stream to the eggs while whisking very fast (you do not want the heated sugar to curdle the eggs).
- Add in a second ½ cup of the sugar again in a very thin stream while whisking.
- Quickly whisk in the egg yolks and keep whisking until smooth.
- Pour lemon curd into the cooked pie crust.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until set in the middle.
- Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours until chilled before slicing.
- Serve with whipped cream and berries.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
The lemon curd filling should have a thick, silky smooth texture. However, that amazing texture and flavor gets ruined if it curdles. Eggs will scramble if they are heated too quickly, and egg whites especially cook very fast. Be sure to remove all the egg white from the yolks. I stream the hot sugar mixture in parts as you continually whisk the egg yolks so they heat slowly.
Table of contents
Can this be made ahead of time?
Because it takes a bit of time to make it properly and assemble, this is the perfect dessert to make ahead of time. It needs at least 4 hours of chilling time and the intense lemon flavor only deepens the longer it sets, so making it the night before is best. The crust is a hardy shortbread that won’t get soggy as the tart chills. You could also make the dough ahead of time separately. Refrigerate the unbaked dough for 2 days or freeze 1 month either in plastic wrap or pressed into a tart pan. Bake the crust from frozen if it is in a tart pan.
How to Store
- Serve: Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving so the custard completely sets. Lemon Tarts are best kept cold so don’t leave them out for more than an hour at room temperature.
- Store: Store in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap. Lemon Tart will stay good for up to 3 days before the crust will begin to soften and the curd becomes watery.
- Freeze: It’s not recommended to freeze because the texture won’t be as smooth when it thaws. If you do want to freeze it, it will keep for 1-2 months, and you can thaw it in the fridge.
FAQs
Lemon curd has to reach a high enough temperature to activate the enzymes in the lemon juice that will eventually set the tart as it cools. A runny curd will lead to a runny tart, so make sure it is thick before baking. A curd is thickened enough when you can coat the back of a spoon and swipe a line through with your finger and the curd stays.
If your Lemon Tart cracked, it means your curd got too hot. Either the oven temperature was too high, your tart was over-baked, or it did not cool completely before removing from the pan. To keep from over-baking, remove your tart from the oven when the center is still slightly wobbly.
The sweet crust for a tart is par-baked or blind baked, which means cooking the crust beforehand with pie weights or beans to hold its shape. If the crust puffs up when baking, use a glass bowl or measuring cup to gently press it back down.
A tart pan is great for getting that classic short, straight side and has a removable bottom so that you can serve the tart out of the pan. However, it is not necessary to use a tart pan when you are making this dessert at home. You can use a standard pie plate or a 9-inch spring-form pan to make your tart instead of a tart pan. Press the crust only 1-inch up the side of either baking dish and bake as normal
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