Simple elegance defines this luscious French Lemon Tart with a buttery tart shell baked around a silky lemon curd. It's a dessert for all seasons!
For as long as I can remember, I've had an absolutely insatiable, and times insufferable, sweet tooth. My philosophy regarding dessert runs roughly "Life is already too sour to 'learn' to like mature desserts." I don't want to have to 'appreciate' the biscuit-like qualities of 'black coffee cookies,' or 'acquire the taste' for faux-brownies or imposter-cupcakes whose sole source of 'true' deliciousness is the supposedly healthy qualities blended into them from whatever the day's 'super vegetable' or 'miracle oil' happens to be.
Instead, dessert should be like an ardent admirer who's constantly in pursuit of your affection. There should be tempting qualities to dessert, qualities that embody the culinary variant of nigh-irresistible seduction that requires virtuous fortitude to resist rather than to consume. Dessert should be that after dinner pleasure that you anticipate with each savory bite of your nightly meal, or that forbidden pleasure that you sneak away to indulge during the day. Dessert should leave you feeling guilty yet satisfied, as opposed to 'superior' for your supposedly 'mature' taste.
In other words, if you have to 'learn' to like your dessert - it isn't worth your attention in the first place.
Naturally, that brings us to today's dessert - French Lemon Tart.
To start things off, we begin by sifting about two cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl, and then cutting up about half a cup of butter into the sifted flour. Then, using your hands, work the mixture until you achieve 'breadcrumb like' bits. Once that's done, add in powdered sugar and work the mixture again. No, you can't just throw in the sugar with the butter and then work it all at once. Follow directions!
Next, add in the egg, a bit of vanilla, a tablespoon of cold water, and mix again. Yes, all this mixing will eventually be worth it, I promise.
Now, roll out the resulting pastry dough on a thoroughly floured surface until it's no more than a quarter of an inch thick, and then fit it into a 9-inch pie tin that is lined with parchment paper and bake it for about ten minutes.
Finally, the filling. We begin by whisking together six eggs, and then adding a cup and a half of sugar, half a cup of unsalted butter. Stir this mixture over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Add in the lemon juice and rind. For this recipe, I'm using Living the Gourmet's lemon of choice - Limoniera, whose delicious, organic, ultra-high quality lemons are a recurring guest on my site. Continue cooking over a low heat, stirring continuously, until the lemon curd has thickened slightly.
Pour the lemon curd into the pie shell and bake for twenty minutes until the mixture has just set. Then remove from the oven, set on a wire rack to cool, and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
French Lemon Tart
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 tart 1x
Ingredients
For the Tart Shell:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tbs. powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tsp. vanilla
For the Filling:
- 6 eggs - beaten
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Grated rind and juice of 4 lemons
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat Oven 400 degrees F.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and cut the butter into pieces and add to the flour.
- Using your fingers, crumble the mixture into fine breadcrumb like pieces. Add the powdered sugar and work again into the pieces.
- Add the egg, vanilla and a tablespoon of cold water and continue to work into a dough.
- Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a ¼ inch thickness and to fit into a 9-inch pie tin prepared with parchment paper. Blind bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool before filling.
- To make the curd beat the eggs and put the eggs, sugar and butter into a small pan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Add the lemon juice and the lemon rind and continue cooking until the curd has thickened slightly. Pour the curd into the prepared pastry shell.
- Bake 20 - 25 minutes until the mixture has set.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
- Dust with powdered sugar when ready to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 pieces
And that's our French Lemon Tart. If you enjoyed today's recipe, or have any questions or suggestions, be sure to let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing from you. Happy Baking!
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Jill says
2lbs of powdered sugar seems a lot is that a typo?
Living the Gourmet says
Dear Jill, the recipe calls for 2 tbs. not lbs. I'm not totally sure where you are seeing lbs in the recipe card. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the tart! 🙂
Stacey Miller says
Your instructions in your post do say to bake the crust for 10 minutes before filling it with curd, but the recipe doesn't mention it. Which one is it?
Kate says
Just made this for the second time. My brother in law is not a dessert person at all and usually skips any that I make but he loved this lemon tart! A new family dinner tradition xx
Anda says
Hi, can I use a premade pie crust? If so, how does that change the baking time for the curd? Thank you!
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Anda, You may certainly use a premade crust! It will have no effect on the curd. Just skip ahead to the sixth step! Enjoy and feel free to reach out if you have any other questions! Cheers~
Kristin R says
Does this tart need to be refrigerated?
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Kristin, Yes, it keeps best when refrigerated. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!
Jaymi says
Should the pie shell be baked at 400 for 10 mins? It doesn’t say a temperature for that! Just in the final recipe which I am assuming is for the filled pie!?
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Jaymi, No, the pie shell does not need to be prebaked for this recipe. I hope that helps! Good luck and enjoy! If you have any other questions, please let me know! 🙂
Syl Fowler says
Thanks for sharing this recipe Catherine and LTG. We love lemon desserts! This recipe seems very easy and will probably make it in the next couple of weeks. I froze lots of fresh squeezed meyer lemon juice (in 1/2 cup cubes) last season. How much lemon juice do 4 lemons yield?
Danielle Wolter says
i want this so bad! lemon is one of my favorite flavors ever, and this pie sounds absolutely incredible! Plus it looks gorgeous!
Caitlin says
I thought this looked amazing! I tried to make it and the crust just did not want to come together. It kept cracking as I rolled it out and no matter what I did, it didn't help. I followed the recipe to a T, what did I do wrong?
Living the Gourmet says
Dear Caitlin, I am so glad you decided to give my lemon tart a try! So sorry the crust did not turn out as you had hoped. That being said, this is a recipe I've used on several different occasions for a few other tarts I have made. My best suggestions are to make sure you are using enough butter in your recipe and make sure it is nice and chilled. I make mine in the food processor rather than mixing it by hand which may help it all come together easier for you. Finally, made sure the egg is room temp. I hope you give it another try and that you enjoy it as much as I have! Thank you for stopping by and if you have any more questions, just let me know. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Kristin says
I had to add extra water to help the crust come together and I had leftover curd.....it was right up to the top of the crust. I think it would be easier to roll out the crust if you refrigerate it for 10 to 20 minutes. Also not sure it really needed the parchment paper, I've never used that with other tarts I've made. I had it in the oven for 30 minutes and it still wasn't set, but I took it out because it was starting to burn on the sides.. I'm wondering if it was a typo to put the whole egg in. I've made lemon curd many times and have never used the whole egg, only the yolks. Maybe because the curd is then baked. It did turn out alright in the end, the crust wasn't as baked as I would have liked, so I will not use parchment next time. The flavour was good though and I will try it again.
Lisa says
Supposed to bake it 10 minutes b4 you put the curd in according to the blurb above, but it isn't in the recipe instructions.
Lisa says
I'm making it right now, I notice in your blurb you say to bake the crust for 10 minutes before you add the filling, you do not say that in the recipe instructions. Might want to change that.
Nicolas Hortense says
Always been a favourite of mine. Can never get enough of that tang that makes your eyes squint a bit from every bite (: