Creamy Lemon Tart (Printable)
Silky lemon custard in a crisp, buttery crust, chilled and finished with powdered sugar and fresh berries.
# What You'll Need:
→ Crust
01 - 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/3 cup powdered sugar
03 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
05 - 1 large egg yolk
06 - 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
→ Creamy Lemon Filling
07 - 1 cup heavy cream
08 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
09 - 3 large eggs
10 - 2 large egg yolks
11 - 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
12 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
13 - Pinch of salt
→ Garnish (optional)
14 - Powdered sugar, for dusting
15 - Fresh berries or candied lemon slices
# Steps:
01 - Heat oven to 350°F.
02 - In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse to blend.
03 - Add cold, cubed butter to the dry mixture and pulse until a crumbly texture forms.
04 - Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons cold water; pulse until dough begins to form. If needed, add an additional tablespoon water.
05 - Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, shape into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
06 - Roll chilled dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Carefully fit into a 9-inch tart pan, trim excess, prick base with a fork, and freeze for 10 minutes.
07 - Line crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove weights, and bake an additional 8–10 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly.
08 - Lower oven to 300°F.
09 - In a mixing bowl, whisk heavy cream, granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
10 - Pour filling into the cooled crust. Bake 20–25 minutes until edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly.
11 - Cool tart completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
12 - Dust tart with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh berries or candied lemon slices, if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- This tart is like sneaking a slice of summer onto your plate in any season.
- The creamy filling strikes that perfect balance between tangy and sweet—even the lemon skeptics at my table went back for seconds.
02 -
- Once I tried to rush the crust and didn’t chill it—cue a shrunken, sad tart shell.
- Discovering the texture difference when using superfine vs regular sugar in the filling convinced me not to swap sugars in a pinch.
03 -
- Weight your tart dough ingredients for absolute reliability, especially on humid days.
- Gently jiggle the tart at the end of baking—it should quiver at the center for that ultra-creamy texture.