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5 from 5 votes

LEMON TART

This is the traditional French style lemon tart with creamy, buttery lemon filling. You will need just a piece to fall in love with french pastry like this one!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time25 minutes
Chilling time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Keyword: lemon cake, lemon curd, lemon tart, sweet pastry
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 242kcal
Author: Julia

Equipment

  • Tart pan 9 inch

Ingredients

Sweet pastry crust

  • 2 cups (250 g)flour
  • 2 pinches of salt
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3/4 cups (95 g) sugar
  • 1/3 cup (30 g) ground almonds
  • 1 large egg

Lemon cream (custard):

  • 5 large lemons
  • 1 1/4 cup (240 g) sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup (160 g) fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 1/3 cups (300 g) unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions

Sweet pastry crust

  • Sift the flour and sugar separately. Beat the egg in a bowl and set aside.
  • In a bowl of stand electric mixer, beat the butter with paddle attachment, until soften and creamy. Add sugar, ground almonds, salt, egg and lastly the flour. Mix on slow speed, until the mixture comes together, do not over mix. Remove from electric mixer wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for minimum of 2 hours.
  • Roll out the sweet pastry dough on floured surface to 3-5 mm (1/8 “-1/4”). Slip the metal spatula underneath to prevent the pastry from sticking. Drape the pastry over the rolling pin and roll up halfway so you can lift it. Carefully because the dough might be braking. Place the dough over the tart pan and unroll the pastry dough. Press the pastry dough into the bottom and up the side of the pan. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the ring to cut off the excess pastry dough. Using your fingertips, press the pastry dough into and up the sides of the pan.
  • Cut out a disk of parchment paper , fold the disk in half several times to make a triangular shape. Then clip the outer edge with scissors. Line the tart pan with the pastry dough and cover the bottom with cut out parchment paper disk. Fill it with dried beans or chickpeas. Bake in preheated oven 180 C (350 F) for 18-20 minutes. Now it will be partially baked. To bake it fully, remove the beans and lining paper and return the sweet pastry shell to the oven for another 5- 6 minutes or util golden brown.

Lemon cream (custard):

  • Zest the lemons in large heatproof bowl and then you pour in the sugar. Using both hands, rub the lemon zest into the sugar.
  • Add the eggs and whisk everything together. Stir in the lemon juice. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and mix on low speed until the mixture reaches 82-83 C ( 180-181 F) About 15 minutes.
  • Strain the mixture into a large bowl and let cool to 60 C (140 F). Then add butter pieces, one by one, mixing then with an immersion blender.
  • Pour the lemon cream filling into the baked pastry shell and smooth the surface with a metal spatula. Let cool the tart in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
  • For the finishing touch, sprinkle with confectioner sugar. For smooth slices, cut with knife immersed in hot water and wiped with clean cloth.

Notes

For crust
  • When making pastry dough by hand, use marble or wooden pastry board.
  • Knead the dough as briefly as possible.
  • Let the dough rest at least for 2 hours, this will prevent it from cracking when it is rolled out and from shrinking as it bakes.
For lemon curd/cream
  • For sharp taste of lemon cream, use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
  • Do not mix in the butter, until the mixture cools down to 60 C (140F).
  • To make airy lemon cream, at the end mix with immersion blender for full 10 minutes.