The BEST Lemon Tart Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more details.

Have you ever made tarts? This is truly the BEST Lemon Tart recipe and I’m so excited to share it with you. It’s a wonderful dessert for so many occasions!

Lemon Tart Recipe

Looking for cool, refreshing summer desserts, I came across this lemon tart recipe and decided to try it out. I quickly realized that I wasn’t entirely sure what a tart was.

Turns out tarts are simply a pastry crust with a uncovered filling. They are generally thinner than pies and once cooked hold their form outside of their pan.

The filling for a lemon tart is called lemon curd and consists of eggs yolks, sugar, and butter.  Traditionally cooked with a double boiler method, getting the right consistency requires fairly precise temperatures and timing. In order to avoid overcooking, I chose a sous-vide style of cooking the eggs.

I decided to make my own pastry crust, but for those who want to spend less time making this, a premade crust works fine.

How to Make a Tart Crust

Tart Crust

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, very cold

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, cold water, and vanilla
3. Using a stand mixer with a flat beater attachment, mix the flour, almond flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder
4. While mixing, add in the very cold butter cubes. Continue mixing until you achieve a consistency like cornmeal.
5. Add in the egg mixture and and beat until smooth.
6. Gather the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes
7. Roll out the dough making a thin sheet and place in the tart pan. Using a fork poke some holes in the bottom.
8. Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes until crust begins to brown
9. Allow to cool and set aside to add the filling

How to Make the Lemon Curd Tart Filling

Lemon Curd

• 8 egg yolks, blended
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
• 2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 ¾ cup unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature (3 ½ sticks)

1. Heat a pot of water to 149°
2. Place the egg yolks in a zip top bag expelling as much air as possible
3. Cook the yolks for 35 minutes, maintaining a water temp of 149°
4. While the eggs are cooking, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan
5. Boil until the sugar dissolves completely (takes 2-3 minutes)
6. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature
7. When the eggs have finished cooking, immediately submerge the bag into ice water
8. Pour the cooked egg yolks into a blender (cutting a corner of the bag and emptying it like an icing bag makes this a little easier)
9. Gradually add the sugar and lemon syrup while blending
10. Add the cubes of butter gradually and blend until homogenous.
11. Add the lemon zest and perform a final blend
12. Pour the mixture into your tart crusts and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours. The liquid mixture will thicken to become firm.
13. Serve cold with a dollop of whipped cream

*Adapted from Modernist Cuisine

If you are feeling particularly industrious, make your own whipped cream to top off this lemon tart recipe!

Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp sugar

1. Chill a stand mixer bowl for about 10 minutes
2. Add the whipping cream and sugar
3. Using a whisk attachment, whip the cream on high speed until stiffened

Looking for more lemon recipes? We love them too, here are some of our favorites: 

• Effortless Lemon Cake Mix Sweet Rolls

• No Bake Lemon Pie Recipe

• Lemon Butter Sauce Recipe

• Lemon Puppy Chow Recipe

• Lemon Oreo Ice Cream Cake