Classic Lemon Tart Recipe

This Classic Lemon Tart Recipe features a silky smooth lemon curd flooded into a tender cookie-like tart crust. Our favorite lemon curd has a slight floral note to it thanks to honey, but feel free to make this with white sugar if you prefer. Easier to make than it looks, and always a joy to eat, the lemon tart is a classic for a reason!

Ingredients

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to pull together one of the most stunning and delicious dessert recipes. Many of these ingredients overlap between the filling and the crust such as the butter, eggs, and cream.

Lemons

You’ll need 4–6 lemons, depending on size, to make the lemon curd for this tart. Zest the lemons using a microplane (< this is our favorite) before juicing them. You will need a ¼ cup measure of lemon zest and ½ cup lemon juice.

Eggs

This recipe requires a total of 10 eggs—though we only need the yolk from most of those (2 whole eggs and 7 yolks are used in the curd while 1 yolk is used in the crust). Save the egg whites to make an egg white omelette or frittata, or mix them into your morning eggs for a low-fat, protein-packed scramble.

Honey

We love the floral note that honey adds to our homemade lemon curd. You will need ½ cup. If you’d prefer to use sugar you can substitute the honey with ¾ cup granulated sugar.

Butter

For this tart you will need 12 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks or ¾ cup)

Cream

Unlike make other recipes, both our tart crust and our lemon curd feature a splash of cream for silkiness and decadence.

All-Purpose Flour

We’re keeping the tart crust simple and using all-purpose flour. But if you want to make a whole-wheat tart crust, go for it!

Confectioners’ Sugar (Powdered Sugar)

Confectioners’ sugar, also called powder sugar, is ideal for making tender tart crusts. First off, because it’s powdered it blends into the crust smoothly. And secondly, the cornstarch present in confectioners’ sugar makes for a very tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

How to Make Lemon Tart

Step 1: Make the Tart Crust

The beauty of our Classic Tart Crust Recipe is that is uses a food processor to make the dough! Quick and easy and versatile—use it to make a Pear Tart and a Lemon Blueberry Tart.

1. Pulse the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and pulse until a coarse meal is formed. Add the egg yolk and cream and pulse until a dough comes together.
2. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill.

Step 2: Bake the Tart Crust

1. Roll the dough out into a round then transfer it to a tart pan with a removable bottom (this one is our favorite).
2. Loosely wrap the crust in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.
3. Remove the plastic from the tart dough and line the dough with two layers of aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights or baking beans.
4. Blind bake the crust until edges are golden and base is set, this will take about 30 minutes.
5. Remove the pie weights and foil, then return the crust to the oven and continue baking until deeply golden brown, about 5 minutes.
6. Let the crust cool completely.

Step 3: Make the Lemon Curd

While the tart crust cools on a wire rack, get started on making our favorite lemon curd recipe.

1. Whisk the egg yolks, egg, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt together in a saucepan until smooth. Add the butter.
2. Cook the lemon curd mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture has reached 170-degrees and mixture has thickened, this should take 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Remove the saucepan from heat and strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer.
4. Stir in the cream. 

Step 4: Bake the Tart

1. Pour the curd into the tart shell, spreading with an offset spatula if needed.
2. Bake just until the filling has a nice sheen and the center jiggles slightly when shaken, this will take about 10 minutes.

FAQs

Serving

We like to keep the serving of this tart simple—a dusting of powdered sugar and some fresh berries do the trick. If can take it a step further with whipped cream, a berry compote or even a berry coulis.

Storage

For the best quality, enjoy this lemon tart on the same day as it is made. However, this lemon tarts lasts well for up to three days wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator. Stored any longer and the crust will start to soften and the lemon curd will start to weep. 

Because the tart filling is made with eggs, we do not recommend storing this at room temperature overnight.

More Tart Recipes to Try

Tarts are one of our favorite desserts to make so we’ve got quite the archive of recipes for you to try!

• Our Fresh Fruit Tart is unlike any fruit tart you’ve ever had before. Featuring a flavorful whole-wheat tart and a silky mascarpone filling, it’s truly a showstopper.
• In the citrus mood? Our Lemon-Blueberry Tart has been a reader favorite for years!
• When rhubarb season is in full swing, put the fresh ruby stalks to use in our stunning layered Lemon-Rhubarb Tart.
• For something a little funkier and more adventurous, try our Pear, Hazelnut & Blue Cheese Tart.
• In the fall, give our Pumpkin Butter Pop Tarts a try. They’re a fun brunch treat!
• If you’re looking for something a little easier, try our Upside Down Puff Pastry Tarts! We offer 7 different varieties including desserts and savory appetizers.