French Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron

Tarte au Citron – a classic French Lemon Tart with a tangy yet sweet creamy custard in a buttery crisp pastry. It’s the best Lemon tart and deceptively easy to make.

Simply whisk together your filling ingredients, pour the mixture into a sweet pastry case and bake. Et voila, a delicious easy lemon tart worthy of any bakery window.

You’ll find Tarte au Citron on the menu in restaurants and bistros and adorning pâtisserie window displays all over France.

A classic French dessert with its creamy egg custard filling complemented by just the right amount of fresh lemon sharpness.

It is not a lemon curd tart and you won’t find a meringue topping, lately I have seen some meringue versions. But for me, meringue spoils the delicious combination of tanginess and sweetness which make a classic French lemon tart.

I love recreating classic French tarts at home. Home cooked versions may not always be quite as elegant as professional bakes but they can be just as enjoyable.

My pâte sucrée recipe is my favourite sweet shortcrust pastry to use in tarts. It’s much easier to make than regular shortcrust and easier to handle.

There’s no worry of a leaky tart as holes or tears can be patched when you line your tart case. The crisp buttery pastry has a texture similar to shortbread and this texture is retained when the pastry is chilled. This makes it ideal for tarts which are stored and served cold.

The simple lemon custard filling is poured into the part baked tart case and baked. The recipe makes one large lemon tart or eight mini tarte au citron.

The fresh lemon filling and buttery crisp pastry of French Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron combine to provide a perfect end to a meal. Serve the tart on its own or add a few summer berries.

Most of our Summer guests at the Kitchen Shed request lemon tartlets and strawberry tarts are included on the menu.

What equipment do I need ?

• I use my KitchenAid to cream the butter and sugar together for the pastry. You could just as easily use a wooden spoon or spatula if mixing by hand.
• Baking beans / pie weights to weigh down the pastry on its first bake. You can also use rice, dried peas, dried beans or lentils.
• 25 cm / 10 inch fluted, loose bottomed tart tin or 8 x 9cm / 3 ½ inch individual tart tins. A removable base is important as you want to be able to get your tart out in one piece.
• Whisk – I use a hand whisk to mix the lemon custard but use a handheld mixer if you wish.
• Large mixing bowl

What ingredients do I need ?

Pâte Sucrée / Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients

• Butter – salted butter at room temperature. If you use unsalted butter, add a ½  teaspoon of salt.
• Icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar – icing sugar works best because it more easily dissolves into the pastry.
• A large egg – I’ve used the whole egg.
• Ground almonds / almond meal – this adds a lovely nutty flavour to the pastry. If you prefer you can substitute with plain flour.
• Plain flour / all purpose flour

Creamy Lemon Custard Filling Ingredients

• Eggs – essential for making the custard set with just the right amount of wobble. I used large eggs.
• Caster sugar / superfine sugar – I use white caster sugar, as it dissolves more easily.
• Double cream / heavy cream – double cream contains 48 % milk fat which gives the lemon custard its rich creamy texture.
• Lemons – I use the lemon zest and juice. You will need 2 large or 3 small lemons.
• Salted butter – I like to use salted butter because it has a longer shelf life than unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, add a ½  teaspoon of salt. The melted butter adds an extra richness to the custard.
• Icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar – entirely optional whether you dust your tart or not.

How to make French Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron

Make the Pâte Sucrée / Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Case

Pâte sucrée is easy to make and work with. You don’t even have to roll it out if you don’t want too. Small pieces of the soft pastry can be pressed together into your tart tin with no worries of leaky tarts.

• In a stand mixer, use a paddle attachment at medium speed to cream the softened butter, salt and icing sugar.
• Add the egg with half of the flour and mix on a slow speed until the flour is incorporated.
• Remove the bowl from the machine and add the rest of the ingredients.
• Bring the pastry together and mix by hand – keep handling to a minimum.
• Cover with cling film or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it in the fridge for up to a couple of hours.

• Prepare your tart tin and roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to fully line the tin.
• The pastry should be about the thickness of a £1 coin (3 mm / ⅛ inch)

• Carefully line your tin, gently pressing the pastry into the “corners”, sides and edges. Try not to stretch the pastry and patch any cracks you might make.
• Trim off any excess pastry, leaving the sides slightly higher than the tin in case of shrinkage.
• Prick the bottom of the case with a fork and pop in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
• Line your pastry case with baking parchment and fill with ceramic beans, rice or dried beans.

• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the parchment and beans and bake again for 10 minutes.
• After removing your baked pastry case turn down your oven to: 180℃ / 160℃ / 350℉ / Gas Mark 4

Make the Lemon Custard Tart Filling

• Whisk the eggs, sugar and double cream together until blended.
• Add lemon juice and zest and whisk again.
• Lastly, whisk in the melted butter.

Bake your French Lemon Tart

• Carefully pour the lemon filling into the pastry lined tart tin. I find it much easier to fill the tart case while it is on the slide out oven shelf. For me this saves the inevitable spilling of custard whilst transferring from work top to oven.

• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until set. The cooked tart should still have a bit of a wobble in the middle.
• Leave to cool before removing from the tin.
• Dust with a little icing sugar before serving and decorate with summer berries.

Make Individual Lemon Tartlets

• Line eight 9 cm / 3 ½ inch individual tart tins with pastry.
• Prick the bottom of the cases with a fork and pop in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
• Line with baking parchment and fill with ceramic beans, rice or dried beans.
• Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove the parchment and beans and bake again for 6 minutes.
• Lower the oven temperature.

• Pour the lemon custard into each tart case and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Leave to cool before removing from the tins.
• Serve just as they are or dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

How to serve French Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron

Serve once cooled or keep your Tarte au Citron in the fridge until serving and cut into slices using a large sharp knife.

French Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron is delicious served as is but I like to add a few berries for a finishing touch. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries pair well with this lemon tart.
As an extra indulgence, we like to serve a slice of lemon tart with a dollop of homemade clotted cream.

How to store

French Lemon Tart is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze French Lemon Tart ?

The custard prevents the Lemon Tart from being ideally suited to freezing. However, if you want to get ahead, the raw pastry or tart shell does freeze well. Store the pastry double wrapped in cling film or the tart shell in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

More French dessert recipes

• French Strawberry Tart
• Elderberry Tart
• Tarte Normande
• Nectarine Frangipane tart

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I’m entering Easy Lemon Tart | Tarte au Citron into:

• Perfecting Patisserie ( co-hosted by Lucy at Baking Queen 74 & Kevin from The Crafty Larder ) this month over at Baking Queen 74
• The Pastry Challenge created by Jen at  Jen’s Food & Lisa at  United Cakedom, hosted this month by Jen over at Jen’s Food.
• Treat Petite created by Stuart at CakeyBoi & Kat at The Baking Explorer, the host for June is Kat over at The Baking Explorer.

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