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This stunning lemon tart recipe is sure to take your breath away! It’s a vibrant, yellow, zesty lemon dessert that’s just as sweet as it is tangy. Excite your tastebuds with this homemade lemon tart today!
Lemon desserts have always been my thing and a surefire way to brighten up any day. I really enjoy the tangy and zesty flavors of the lemon in desserts. I remember I would always make a run to the famous coffeeshop to grab a slice of their lemon pound cake.
If you’re anything like me and love lemon desserts but also are looking for a dessert that will seriously stun and impress, this easy lemon tart is for you! Creamy, lemony, sweet, and all presented atop a buttery shortbread cookie crust. Everything about this homemade lemon tart (also known as tarte au citron in French) is bright and sunny, making it perfect for spring and summertime. It’s perfect for your end of summer bash!
Ingredients to Make a Classic Lemon Tart
For the crust, all you need is:
- Shortbread cookies – I use Lorna Doone cookies and always have amazing results.
- Butter – Use melted unsalted butter!
The creamy yellow filling for the tart itself calls for lemon curd! To make it easy for you, here are the ingredients:
- Sugar – White granulated sugar is what you’ll need.
- Lemon juice – It’s very, very important that you use freshly squeezed lemon juice! None of that bottled stuff with all the preservatives and artificial flavors.
- Eggs – They need to be room temperature.
- Egg yolks – These will also need to be room temperature.
- Lemon zest – This will enhance the natural lemon flavor like you wouldn’t believe!
- Butter – Unlike the butter in the crust, this butter should be salted and cut into pieces.
- Cornstarch – This helps aide in thickening!
How to Make a Lemon Tart
- Set oven and prepare tart pan. Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Spray a 10” tart tin pan with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
- Make the tart crust. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all cookies until finely crumbled. Add the melted butter to the cookie crumbles and pulse until the cookie crumbs begins to clump together. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared tart pan.
- Blind bake the crust. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- Make the lemon curd. In a small saucepan, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Then whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and cornstarch. Place the saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to medium low. You will need to whisk the mixture constantly as it heats. Keep whisking and cooking the mixture until it thickens to the point that it will coat the back of a spoon. If you have an instant read thermometer, you want it to reach 170 °F (77 °C). Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
- Bake the tart. Pour filling into the baked crust and use an offset spatula to spread it smooth. Bake for another 5 minutes to set the filling.
- Allow the tart to chill. Let the tart cool completely then put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving.
Tips for Success
- Use a tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a tart pan with a removable bottom is the easiest way to ensure success in removing your tart. My tart pan did not have a removable bottom, but the tart still popped out – just work cautiously and ensure your tart is chilled before removing.
- Do not omit or reduce the amount of butter in the crust. The butter in the crust helps hold the crust together.
- Bring ingredients to room temperature before cooking. Bringing all of your lemon curd ingredients to room temperature before cooking will help them to combine smoothly and cook properly.
- Decorate before serving. If you are going to decorate the lemon tart, do so right before serving. Be sure to pat dry any moisture from fruit and make sure that any flower blossoms are edible and clean.
FAQs
A lemon tart is filled with lemon curd. If your lemon tart is runny, it is because you didn’t allow the lemon curd to cook until thickened enough to cover the back of a spoon.
Number one, use fresh, real lemons, not the pre-packaged lemon juice. For lemon variety, I prefer to use Lisbon lemons for this recipe. Meyer lemons are a bit sweeter – if you use Meyer lemons to make your curd, you can reduce the sugar a bit. Eureka lemons are closer to Lisbon in tartness.
You can’t make the lemon tart in advance as it only stays fresh for about 2 days, but to ease the prep time, the lemon curd can be made up to two weeks in advance if kept in the refrigerator or 3 months in advance if kept in the freezer.
Storage Instructions
The tart will stay fresh for about two days in the refrigerator.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this stunning lemon tart at your next ladies brunch or for Mother’s Day or honestly any occasion that you think needs a little brightness!
To be extra indulgent, I love serving Strawberry Ice Cream alongside lemon tarts to give a strawberry-lemon flavor. Certainly plain vanilla ice cream works great too to help balance the tartness!
An Iced Mint Latte would be a nice afternoon drink of choice to serve alongside the lemon tart.
Lemon Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients:
- 10 ounces (284 g) shortbread cookies
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, melted
Lemon Curd Ingredients:
- 3 (267 g) large eggs
- 4 egg yolks, (save the whites to make meringue!)
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Spray a 10” tart pan with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all cookies until finely crumbled.
- Add the melted butter to the cookie crumbles and pulse until the cookie crumbs begins to clump together.
- Press crumbs into a tart pan and tamp down with the flat bottom of a measuring cup or tamper to compact.
- Bake crust for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the eggs and egg yolks. Then whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and cornstarch.
- Place the saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to medium low. You will need to whisk the mixture constantly as it heats. Keep whisking and cooking the mixture until it thickens to the point that it will coat the back of a spoon. If you have an instant read thermometer, you want it to reach 170 °F (77 °C). (It may take up to 10 minutes, and remember that it will continue to thicken when it is chilled.) You must whisk it constantly, even while checking the temperature.
- Once the curd has thickened, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the butter until it is incorporated.
- Pour the lemon filling through a sieve to remove any zest, stray seeds, or lumps.
- Pour filling into the baked crust and use an offset spatula to spread it smooth.
- Bake for an additional 5 minutes to help set the lemon filling.
- Cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving.
- Pop the tart out of the tart pan and place on a large serving plate.
- Top with lemon slices, fresh berries, edible flower petals, etc.
3/4 cup of butter was WAY too much butter for the cookie crust. It absolutely soaked the cookies and made a mushy mess. I would recommended starting with 3-4 tablespoons of melted butter and added 1 tbsp at a time after that to get the right consistency.