Classic Lemon Tart
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 23, 2013
Time
1½ hours, plus 3 hours 25 minutes refrigerating, freezing, and cooling
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Crust
1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour ⅔ cup (2⅔ ounces/75 grams) confectioners' sugar ¼ teaspoon table salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into twenty-four ¾-inch cubes and chilled1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for dustingLemon Filling
7 large egg yolks, plus 2 large whole eggs1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar ¼ cup grated lemon zest plus ⅔ cup juice (4 lemons)pinch table salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces3 tablespoons heavy creamBefore You Begin
The egg ingredient in the recipe video is incorrect; it should be 7 large egg yolks and 2 large whole eggs, as written in the ingredient list. You’ll need a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom for this recipe. If the dough feels too firm when you’re ready to roll it out, let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes. If, on the other hand, the dough becomes soft and sticky while rolling, don’t hesitate to rechill it until it becomes easier to work with. Better to rechill than to add too much flour, which will damage the delicate, crisp texture of the dough. The filling is a lemon curd adapted for this tart. Once the lemon curd ingredients have been combined, cook the curd immediately; otherwise it will have a grainy finished texture. To prevent the curd from acquiring a metallic taste, make absolutely sure that all utensils coming into contact with it--bowls, whisk, saucepan, and strainer—are made of non-reactive stainless steel or glass. Since the tart pan has a removable bottom, it is more easily maneuvered when set on a cookie sheet. If your pre-baked tart shell has already cooled, place it in the oven just before you start the curd and heat it until warm, about 5 minutes. Serve the tart with lightly whipped cream, the perfect accompaniment to the rich, intensely lemon filling.
Instructions
- Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl; set aside. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 25 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Unwrap dough; lightly flour large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place dough in center. Roll into a 15-inch circle, then loosen the dough from plastic and flour again. Ease dough over rolling pin and roll it up loosely. Unroll dough on top of tart pan. Lift edges of dough with your hand and ease it into corners of the pan with your other hand. Press dough into fluted sides, forming a distinct seam along pan circumference. Run rolling pin over top of pan to remove excess dough. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, adjust one oven rack to upper-middle position and other rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chilled tart shell on baking sheet; line tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake on lower rack 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights. Transfer baking sheet with tart shell to upper rack and continue to bake until shell is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
- Whisk yolks and whole eggs together in medium bowl until combined, about 5 seconds. Add sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until curd thickens to thin saucelike consistency and registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes. Immediately strain curd through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Stir in heavy cream; pour curd into warm tart shell immediately.
- Bake until filling is shiny and opaque and until the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Remove outer metal ring of tart pan, slide thin metal spatula between tart and pan bottom to release, and carefully slide tart onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
for the crust
for the lemon filling
Time
1½ hours, plus 3 hours 25 minutes refrigerating, freezing, and coolingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Crust
Lemon Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crust
Lemon Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crust
Lemon Filling
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Despite its apparent simplicity, there is much that can go wrong with a lemon tart. It can slip over the edge of sweet into cloying; its tartness can grab at your throat; it can be gluey or eggy or, even worse, metallic-tasting. Its crust can be too hard, too soft, too thick, or too sweet. We wanted a proper tart, one in which the filling is baked with the shell. For us, that meant only one thing: lemon curd.
For just enough sugar to offset the acid in the lemons, we used 3 parts sugar to 2 parts lemon juice, plus a whopping 1/4 cup of lemon zest. To achieve a curd that was creamy and dense with a vibrant lemony yellow color, we used a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks. We cooked the curd over direct heat, then whisked in cold butter. And for a smooth, light texture, we strained the curd, then stirred in heavy cream just before baking.
Before You Begin
The egg ingredient in the recipe video is incorrect; it should be 7 large egg yolks and 2 large whole eggs, as written in the ingredient list. You’ll need a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom for this recipe. If the dough feels too firm when you’re ready to roll it out, let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes. If, on the other hand, the dough becomes soft and sticky while rolling, don’t hesitate to rechill it until it becomes easier to work with. Better to rechill than to add too much flour, which will damage the delicate, crisp texture of the dough. The filling is a lemon curd adapted for this tart. Once the lemon curd ingredients have been combined, cook the curd immediately; otherwise it will have a grainy finished texture. To prevent the curd from acquiring a metallic taste, make absolutely sure that all utensils coming into contact with it--bowls, whisk, saucepan, and strainer—are made of non-reactive stainless steel or glass. Since the tart pan has a removable bottom, it is more easily maneuvered when set on a cookie sheet. If your pre-baked tart shell has already cooled, place it in the oven just before you start the curd and heat it until warm, about 5 minutes. Serve the tart with lightly whipped cream, the perfect accompaniment to the rich, intensely lemon filling.
Instructions
- Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in small bowl; set aside. Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; pulse to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. With machine running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together, about 25 seconds. Turn dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and press into 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Unwrap dough; lightly flour large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap and place dough in center. Roll into a 15-inch circle, then loosen the dough from plastic and flour again. Ease dough over rolling pin and roll it up loosely. Unroll dough on top of tart pan. Lift edges of dough with your hand and ease it into corners of the pan with your other hand. Press dough into fluted sides, forming a distinct seam along pan circumference. Run rolling pin over top of pan to remove excess dough. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, adjust one oven rack to upper-middle position and other rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Place chilled tart shell on baking sheet; line tart shell with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake on lower rack 30 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights. Transfer baking sheet with tart shell to upper rack and continue to bake until shell is golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
- Whisk yolks and whole eggs together in medium bowl until combined, about 5 seconds. Add sugar and whisk until just combined, about 5 seconds. Add lemon juice, zest, and salt; whisk until combined, about 5 seconds. Transfer mixture to medium saucepan, add butter pieces, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until curd thickens to thin saucelike consistency and registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes. Immediately strain curd through fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Stir in heavy cream; pour curd into warm tart shell immediately.
- Bake until filling is shiny and opaque and until the center 3 inches jiggle slightly when shaken, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Remove outer metal ring of tart pan, slide thin metal spatula between tart and pan bottom to release, and carefully slide tart onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
for the crust
for the lemon filling
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