If you are fond of lemon desserts, then you are going to love this lemon tart recipe! This is our take on the French classic Tarte au Citron that’s made with a buttery and crumbly tart crust – filled with mouth-watering tart lemon curd.
What makes this traditional French-style recipe so special? Everything from the custardy cream and tangy lemon curd filling to the rich French tradition. It’s not too sweet, but not so much sour either. It is so soft that it just melts in the mouth.
Above everything, the French tart is super simple to prepare and fancy enough to serve up at dinner parties. Check out our ultimate recipe below with all the ingredients and steps you need to make this classic lemon tart.
What ingredients do you need?
You will need some good-quality lemon for best results. Use unsalted butter since it is great for both the tart crust and lemon curd filling. Choose white granulated sugar over brown sugar to avoid ruining the colour and taste of the filling. You can also use some edible flowers and micro basil to garnish. Also, you will need pure cream to prepare the tart crust.
Key ingredients:
- 250ml pure cream
- 25g icing sugar
For pastry:
- 1 egg yolk
- 175g plain flour
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- 100g unsalted butter
- 2 tbs caster sugar
- 1 tbs cold water
For filling:
- 8 egg yolks
- 200ml cream
- 330g caster sugar
- 200ml fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbs finely grated lemon zest
How to prepare the lemon tart?
First, you will need to prepare the pastry. Place all the ingredients into a bowl of a food processor and start beating it until the dough comes together. Next, turn out onto a floured bench and roll out to 2mm thick. Line a 22cm tart tin with the pastry and make sure you trim off the edges. Refrigerate it for 25-30 minutes.
Preheat your Falcon oven to 160°C fan. Line the pastry with some baking paper and start filling it with pastry weights. Bake for at least 15 minutes and then remove baking paper and weights. Take it to the oven for a further 10 minutes, so that it gets lightly golden and the base evenly cooked.
Meanwhile, you can whisk together the yolks, caster sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir through the cream and let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Strain this mixture through a fine sieve into the tart shell and skim bubbles. Reduce the Falcon cooker to 120°C fan and bake for 40 minutes, so that the mixture firms up as it sets. Now, place it in the fridge to cool in the tart tin for nearly 3 hours. Just let it completely set.
To serve the tart
Unmould it and place it onto a serving plate. Whisk together some cream and icing sugar. You can transfer to a piping bag and pipe small circles of cream around the edge of the tart. Finally, garnish with yellow edible flowers and micro basil. The lemon tart is finally ready to linger on your taste buds!