The Ultimate Lemon Curd Tart

A French lemon curd tart, also known as 'Tarte Au Citron', is the ultimate lemon dessert. A rich and tangy homemade lemon curd made with fresh lemon juice and egg yolks in a buttery homemade shortcrust pastry.

Table of Content

• About this recipe
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions
• Troubleshooting
• Frequently asked questions 
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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Do you love lemon tarts? Then this recipe is for you. Unfortunately, in our home, I'm the only lemon fan. So lemon desserts are rare and if I do make them they are all for me. Not so bad right? Who would complain about a good lemon curd tart or lemon mousse? Not me. I can eat lemon curd by the jar if I could afford it.

About this recipe

A surprisingly simple and easy recipe to make and everything can be made ahead of time or semi-homemade.
This tart has basically just two components, the pastry shell, and the lemon curd. The process is as simple as

• Shortcrust paste (can be made up to 3 days ahead)
• Lemon curd (also can be made up to 3 days ahead)
• Assemble the tart a day before
• Chill the tart for a few hours so it sets well.
• Dust with powdered sugar.

A simple and easy recipe that you can make from scratch or semi-homemade. Great in summer to bring along for a BBQ party or any evening with family and friends.

How do I make this semi-homemade?

Shortcrust pastry - I always make my pastry from scratch. Today, I am using sweet shortcrust but you can also use rich shortcrust pastry. Having said that, if you don't want to make it yourself,
the supermarket has tons of 'ready to roll shortcrust pastry' as well as prebaked shortcrust or cookie crust tarts that you can use. 

Lemon curd - I highly recommend making the curd at home from scratch. This recipe is tangy, rich, and delicious. It is a very popular recipe on this blog and for good reason. Having said that, lemon curd is easily available in most food stores these days. My word of advice is to buy a good brand that you trust.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Butter  - You want to use unsalted butter. The color of your butter will determine the color of your pastry. I'm using a pale white butter. And if you can't find unsalted butter, go ahead and use salted butter but omit the additional salt in the recipe.
• Chilled water - We need to keep the butter in the pastry cold at all times until baking which is one reason we use chilled or ice water.
• Lemons - Use the measure of lemon juice not the number of fruits when making this recipe.
• Caster sugar - Caster sugar is usually a fine grain sugar. Use a fine grain sugar that will dissolve quickly in the eggs.
• Egg yolks - The color of yolks will determine the end color of your lemon curd. So if you use light color yolks, you will have pale yellow lemon curd. A bright golden yellow or orange is much preferred.

Step by step instructions

Shortcrust pastry

• In the bowl of a stand mixer or mixing bowl with a spatula, cream the butter and sugar for just a minute. Add the vanilla extract, salt, and egg yolk – and combine well.
  Pro tip - We do not want to add too much air into our pastry so don't cream it too much.
• Next, fold the flour and combine well but don't overwork the dough. Make a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight. Until firm enough to roll.
  Pro tip - Overworking the dough will activate the gluten and make the pastry tough.

• Dust the work surface lightly with flour and roll the chilled dough to about ¼ inch thickness.
  Pro tip - Roll carefully from the center out turning as you go. This is a delicate pastry that breaks easily but is easy to patch up.
• Use your 9-inch tart pan as a guide to know how big you need to roll it. Transfer the dough to the tart pan.
  Pro tip - To transfer the dough easily, roll over the rolling pin and then unroll over the pan.
• Gently press the dough into the tart pan making sure to press down into the shape of the pan.
  Pro tip - This dough is delicate so if it breaks don't worry so much. Just patch it and do the best you can. It will be filled with curd so no one will see the patches 😉
• Trim the excess dough at the edges with a rolling pin, or your thumb. Chill the tart shell for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5
• Line the chilled dough with parchment paper and fill it with baking beans or pie weights.
  Pro tip - The best way to line the pie with parchment is to scrunch the paper into a ball, open it, and line with the crumpled paper.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are lightly starting to brown. Remove the parchment paper and weights.
• Continue to bake the empty shell for 10 to 15 minutes more until lightly golden. Cool on a cooling rack until completely cold (room temperature).
  Pro tip - This is a fully baked tart shell and can be used to add any filling once cooled completely.

Prepare Lemon curd

• Place a saucepan with 2-inches of water on medium-low heat. You will need a heat-proof bowl that can be set on the saucepan.
• In the bowl over the saucepan, add the egg yolks, egg, salt, cornstarch, and sugar. Don't place it over the saucepan yet.
• Whisk until light, and fluffy. The sugar should almost melt. Gradually, add the lemon juice and lemon zest.
• Place the bowl on the saucepan and continue to whisk as the mixture thickens. The mixture should cook gently with the steam from the water in the saucepan below.
  Pro tip - While you don't want the heat too high you also don't want it too low. Otherwise, it will take too long to cook.

• Continue to stir and cook until it thickens enough to coats the back of your wooden spoon. About 10 to 15 minutes Depending on the heat it can take up to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
  Pro tip - If the curd is too thin, it will not set when chilled in the tart. So, make sure the curd is thick and coats the back of the spoon thickly.
• Gradually, add cubes of chilled butter one at a time. Make sure each piece is well incorporated. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
• Once all the butter is incorporated, strain it through a mesh or a strainer.
  Pro tip - It is essential to strain the curd so you remove the zest as well as any cooked eggs. This way the tart will be smooth and creamy.
• Wrap with plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the top surface of the curd to prevent skin from forming.
  Pro tip - This lemon curd can be poured into a mason jar and used as a condiment over toast etc.

Assemble

• Pour the lemon curd into the baked and cooled tart shell. Let chill in the fridge for a few hours.
  Pro tip - The tart will set in about 4 hours but it is best to leave overnight. A chilled tart tastes better and cuts nicer slices too.
• Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with lemon slices. You can also pipe some whipped cream on top of the tart.

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Troubleshooting

My lemon curd tart does not cut into slices?

The lemon curd needs to be cooked until it's thick and coats the back of the spoon. If you see in this recipe I have an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken the lemon curd so it sets firm not soft.
Additionally, you need to chill the tart for a good few hours so the filling has time to set well.

I have too much extra lemon curd?

This lemon curd in this recipe is just enough for a 9-inch tart pan. However, if the shortcrust pastry shrinks when baking you may have extra lemon curd. Read my tips on how to make the perfect shortcrust pastry ever single time.

Frequently asked questions 

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