Classic French Lemon Tart

slice of lemon tart with whipped cream and berries on a white plate.

5 from 38 votes

Classic French Lemon Tart

You're going to love my Classic Lemon Tart! Creamy and delicious, with loads of tart lemon flavor that makes the perfect balance of sweet and tart

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings:

Calories: 374kcal

Equipment

9 inch tart pan with removable bottom

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

6 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
½ cup fresh lemon juice 3 - 4 lemons depending on size and how much juice they yield
⅕ teaspoon salt omit if you use salted butter
6 tablespoon unsalted butter cold cut into 6 pieces

Sweet Tart Crust

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
4 oz cold butter cut into small pieces.
1 large egg

Instructions

Lemon Curd

Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with about one inch of water over high heat, to create a double boiler. When the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to low to let the water simmer.
Add the egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt to a metal bowl or heatproof glass bowl and place it on top of the saucepan.
Whisk the egg mixture until thoroughly blended. Continue whisking the egg mixture over the heat until the mixture has thickened (about 10 minutes). Whisking the mixture will help keep the curd from curdling.
*If the curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat a little and keep whisking.
Once thickened, remove the pan from heat and add the pieces of butter to the mixture one at a time, whisking until each piece of butter is incorporated. *The heat of the curd will melt the butter.
Place the curd in a bowl or jar for storage and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the curd so a skin does not form. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
Once the curd is fully cooled (2-3 hours refrigerated), you can remove the plastic wrap and store the lemon curd in a well-sealed container.

Sweet Tart Crust

Add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture for a few seconds until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by using a pastry cutter.
Add butter and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal, about 10-12 pulses.
Add egg and vanilla extract to the mixture and continue to pulse until the dough starts to clump together (about 10-15 seconds).
Do not pulse the mixture too much. You don't want the dough to form a large ball. The dough should be crumbly with large clumps. The dough should stick without feeling dry or crumbly.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a ball. The dough should come together easily without being sticky.
Flatten the dough ball to form a disc. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
*The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before use.
When ready to make the tart crust, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for five minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using a rolling pin into an 11-inch circle, then gently place it into the tart pan.
I use tart pans with a removable bottom, it makes life a lot easier.
With a sharp knife, trim the edges of the pastry to fit the tart pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes until its firm.
*Frozen dough is less likely to shrink during the baking process.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place the rack in the center of the oven.
Use parchment paper or aluminum foil pressed tightly against the crust. Cover the edges to prevent them from burning. Add pie weights or dried beans to the shell making sure they’re evenly distributed over the entire surface.
Bake the tart crust for 20 minutes until the foil (or parchment) no longer sticks to the dough. Carefully remove the pie weights and foil.
After removing the weights place the tart shell back into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown and the crust is dry.
Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely.

Assembly

Fill the tart shell with chilled lemon curd, spreading it evenly, and refrigerate the tart for at least 4 hours.
Serve with berries and whipped cream if you like.

Notes

Refrigerated and well-sealed the lemon curd will last for up to 10 days

Nutrition