Classic lemon tart (tart au citron)
Lemon tart (tart au citron) is one of my all time favourite pastry desserts and this is my easy-to-follow take on the French classic! Featuring a pâte sucrée and vibrant lemon curd filling using Meyer lemons.
I’ve definitely been going through a bit of a sweet revival lately, and it’s been so nostalgic because in a prior life (aka my early 20s), I was definitely more of a sweet cook than a savoury one. I think the precision and science of baking and desserts is what makes it interesting to me, to the point where there was also a time when I almost enrolled in pastry school (kind of regret not doing that, actually!).
This lemon tart or tart au citron is my absolute favourite pastry dessert. I love using a classic lemon curd filling – it’s zesty and bright and has the most wonderful texture when set. Also, as far as pastry desserts go, I think this one is pretty easy! There might be a few steps involved but on a difficulty scale, I’d say this is suitable even for novice bakers.
Classic lemon tart (tart au citron)
Equipment
- 22cm fluted tart/quiche pan
Ingredients
Sweet pastry dough (pâte sucrée)
- 110 g unsalted butter room temp and soft
- 100 g icing sugar
- 3 egg yolks approx 50g
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 240 g all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
Lemon curd filling
- 250 ml lemon juice I like to use Meyer lemons as they’re a bit sweeter, but you can use other varieties too
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 175 g sugar
- 170 g unsalted butter cubed
- 4 whole eggs from large eggs
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs
Instructions
Pâte Sucrée
- In a large bowl, add the softened butter and sift in the icing sugar. Use a spatula to combine well. We don’t want to beat air into it, just create a smooth and thick butter/sugar mixture.
- Add the egg yolks and vanilla and use the spatula to combine. Then sift in the flour, and a pinch of salt.
- Once again use the spatula to combine until you have a crumbly mixture that stays together when you press it between your fingers.
- Tip the mixture out onto your work surface and gently bring it together with your hands to form a thick, round disc of dough.
- Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge and allow to warm up for 5 minutes at room temperature before rolling out.
- Place the dough between two large sheets of parchment paper, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circle large enough for your fluted tin, approximately 4mm thick.
- Drape the dough over the tart tin and use your hands to press into the sides – it’s important to press the dough into the fluted sides to prevent shrinkage. If you have any gaps just take a piece of dough from the excess and patch it up.
- Use a rolling pin to cut off the excess dough by simply rolling it along the top of the tin.
- Dock the base of the tin with a fork, then cover lightly with clingfilm and freeze for 30-45 minutes.
- Meanwhile preheat your oven to 190c (170c fan forced / 365f).
- Bring the pastry case out of the freezer and line the inside with parchment paper, then fill with baking beans (I used dried beans and rice).
- Blind bake for 30 minutes, then remove the baking beans and parchment and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until the sides of the tart are golden and the base is set but still relatively pale.
- While the tart is blind baking, prepare the curd filling.
Lemon curd filling
- Combine all of the ingredients in a pan (any material but carbon steel), and whisk briefly to combine the eggs.
- Place over a medium heat and stirring almost constantly, cook the curd until it’s thick enough that when you drop some of the curd down it will leave a brief imprint behind – it should be thick enough to comfortably coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain the curd through a sieve, then add to your blind-baked pastry shell.
- Reduce the oven to 180c (160c fan forced / 355f) and bake in the centre of the oven for 8-10 minutes. The filling will still be quite wobbly in the centre but the edges should be just set.
- Allow the tart to cool entirely before serving. I like to refrigerate overnight – this allows the curd filling to completely set and become sliceable.
