Tarte au Citron (Lemon Tart)

Perfectly tangy, with a super-tender short crust, this is our favorite way to make the French classic tarte au citron. No rolling required — you press the dough into the pan with your fingers, and no need for pie weights.

READ: “Classic French lemon tart: After 15 years of tinkering with the recipe, this is the one we adore”

It’s not absolutely necessary to make the crust first, especially if you want to prepare both crust and filling a day or two in advance. The crust takes about 45 minutes to chill then 25 minutes to blind-bake before filling. The curd filling needs to cool completely after cooking before you fill the crust. To speed cooling, you can set the bowl of just-cooked curd in an ice bath and whisk to cool it down more quickly, or pour it into a wide, shallow dish to chill in the fridge if you have plenty of room. Or you can keep it, covered and refrigerated, for up to two weeks. But if you do this, be careful — it’s really delicious to eat by the spoonful or slather it on your toast, and if you or someone in your household succumbs to the temptation, you won’t have enough to fill your tart.

If your lemons are not juicy, you may need more than called for in the recipe.

Makes a 9-inch tart.

Ingredients

For the short crust shell

135 g / 4.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup plus two tablespoons)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Grated zest of half a small lemon

128 g / 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, not too cold but not softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract stirred into 1 tablespoon water

For the filling

4 large eggs

100 g / 3.5 ounces sugar (1/2 cup)

2 medium or 3 smallish lemons

85 g / 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 10 or 12 pieces

Instructions

To make the crust

1. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the salt, sugar and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Scatter the butter in, and using your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until it has the texture of coarse meal. Sprinkle the vanilla-water over the mixture and work it in quickly, until the dough holds together. Form it into a ball, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit 5 or 10 minutes in the fridge.

2. Place the dough in a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan, and use your palm to flatten the dough as much as possible. Now use your fingers to spread the dough evenly in the pan, including up the sides. Make sure the sides and bottom are evenly coated. Use a fork to poke holes all over the bottom. Place the crust in the freezer for 30 minutes, or longer, even overnight. If you leave it in there more than an hour or so, wrap it in foil first.

3. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C, with the rack in the middle of the oven. Place the crust in the oven (no need to fill with pie weights) and bake until lightly golden brown, about 23 to 28 minutes. Let the crust cool a bit before filling.

To make the lemon-curd filling

1. Before you start, set a strainer over a large bowl and set aside. Crack the eggs into a medium heavy saucepan. Add the sugar. then use a fine Microplane to grate the zest of both (or all) the lemons directly into the pan with the eggs and sugar. Juice the lemons and strain the juice, pressing to push through any pulp that will go through. You’ll want 100 ml / 3.5 oz of juice (just under 1/2 cup). Pour that into the pan, whisking everything together completely.

2. Add the butter, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens — it will take a few minutes (about 5 to 7), and then happen all of a sudden. Remove from the heat, and pour the curd through the strainer into the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to scrape every last bit out of the pan, and to push all the curd through the strainer. Cover with plastic film and let the curd cool completely in the fridge.

To bake the tart

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C. Use a spatula to scrape all the curd into the pre-baked crust, and bake about 25 to 30 minutes. It’ll be fine after 25, but you can also leave it till it’s slightly puffed and just starting to brown a little in spots. Either way, it will be delicious.

2. Set the tart on a wire rack to cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, remove the outer edge of the tart pan and set on a serving plate.