Lemon Tart
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Easy homemade lemon tart is a great citrus dessert made from scratch & using basic ingredients. It’s a perfect baking project for kids as well!
This homemade lemon tart is also perfect for beginner bakers! No special skills are required and the final result is well worth it!
I fell in love with lemon tart while living in Scotland. It was over 10 years ago. I loved everything about this citrus dessert. Even though I did not bake or cook much back then I made sure to write down this easy lemon tart recipe.
You see, lemon tart was not a common dessert where I come from back then and I dare to say that it is not much different now.
It is a shame because this is such a delicious homemade dessert! What do you think? Do you like citrus desserts? I like them a lot! Imagine thumbprint cookies or mini chocolate cups with homemade lemon curd! Easy to make desserts where lemon is the main or one of the main ingredients.
What do I like about this homemade lemon tart?
- Its sweetness & tartness at the same time.
- It’s simple preparation.
- Basic ingredients – 7 basic ingredients that don’t cost much.
- No kneading is required.
- No rolling out is needed.
- Great recipe for beginner bakers and a fun baking project for kids.
- 100% made from scratch – you can’t beat the homemade lemon tart recipe with the shop-bought version.
Guys, making homemade desserts is easier than you think!
How to make homemade lemon tart – step by step
Let’s divide the process into 2 steps!
Step 1 – Making the crust:
Everyone can do this! And I really mean everyone. Even kids! Actually, this is a perfect baking project for kids. Do you know why? Well, the answer is in this crust.
Making lemon tart crust is easy and more importantly it’s fun. This is not the type of pastry that needs to be rolled out nicely. No no no! This one you basically stick to your cake tin. So kids will love doing this. Trust me!
So it goes like this: flour, butter & sugar are combined until a sticky dough is formed. That is it. This takes about a minute. All you have to do now is cover the bottom and sides of your cake tin with it. Evenly-ish, if possible.
Step 2 – Making the lemon tart filling:
Get a bowl and throw the rest of the ingredients in. Whisk. Pour over the pastry and bake. You see, this is really easy and I am telling you, your kids will love making this lemon tart with you!
A few tips:
Homemade lemon tart is one of my favorite pies and I’ve made it several times. It always tastes delicious. To make the baking as smooth as possible check out these tips:
- Butter your cake tin well. Be more than generous. If you grease your tin properly, you will be able to take out this lemon tart without any trouble.
- If for some reason you find the pastry too hard to work with, add some extra melted butter.
- Bake until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown.
Toppings: Lemon tart tastes even better when topped with sour cream, ice cream or whipped cream. I personally prefer eating this lemon tart with sour cream.
So now that you know everything you should know about making this easy lemon tart recipe you can give it a try!
Good to know:
This recipe can be easily doubled!
Check out my other dessert recipes with lemon:
Want to see how to make Lemon Tart? Watch the video!
Simple Homemade Lemon Tart
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup plain flour (130 grams)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (110 grams)
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the lemon filling:
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 egg (large)
- lemon juice (from 1 large lemon – at least 1/3 cup)
Instructions
- Mix flour, melted butter and icing sugar in a bowl until you get soft dough.
- Press this soft dough into the base of your cake tin and up the sides. Pierce the dough several times with a fork.
- Bake it blind for 20 minutes at 375°F/190°C. Take it out & let it cool down. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F/150°C.
- In a bowl, whisk caster sugar, egg, cream and lemon juice. Carefully pour into the cooled pastry case.
- Return to the oven and bake for a further 35–40 minutes or until the filling is set.
- Take it out and let cool down completely before removing it from the tin.
- Dust with icing sugar and serve.
- Happy Baking!
I have made this twice now and it is definitely a family favourite. It’s easy and requires very little actual time to make but you do have to allow for cooling times.
I am so glad to hear you like this simple recipe. Happy Baking!
It tastes good but the ratios are off. I have a 7in pan and i still had to double the filling. Also, the eggs are too much. I used two medium eggs (in my already doubled recipe) and got some scrambled eggs on top. So i also recommend whisking thoroughly with an actual whisk and not just a fork, and doubling everything but the egg. Then, its good.
Hi Jasmine. I make this tart on regular basis in a 7-inch pan and the filling is just the right amount. How high is your pan? This could only happen if your pan is way too deep. You can check the photos or video to see mine is pretty shallow. As for the filling, the recipe states whisk and the video also show it. However, a fork will do just fine if you whisk the egg well. That being said, I will revise the recipe and try to improve the recipe card so it is easier to understand.
Super easy for kids! I love this recipe!
That’s so good to hear! Thanks so much for your comment! :)
I absolutely loved how the tartness and sweetness complemented each other, it was just the right balance! This dessert came together so easily. Already looking forward to making it again.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Bonnie.
This was great! I had a 9” tart pan, so I made one and a half of the crust recipe and doubled the filling. Cooked the same amount of time (30m) since it was thinner. I also added in zest from one lemon. Crust was fantastic and so yummy.
Thank you so much for your comment and rating, Gloria! Happy Baking!
Lemony goodness!
This tart was very easy to bake & super yummy! I used a larger tart pan so I decided to double the recipe. Topped with berries & mint.
Will be making it again!
That is so good to hear, Kelsie! Thanks for finding time to leave the comment.
Hello Julia I’m planning to make your lemon tart what size of baking pan do you use.
Hi Ana. It is a small 7-inch sandwich pan.
can I use a springform pan if yes should I double recipe?
Hi Pauline. No, I don’t recommend using a springform pan for this recipe. You want a pie pan or sandwich pan, quite shallow in fact.
Thanks for the recipe! Just made with my 3yo. Curious, does this need to be refrigerated or is it counter top safe?
Hi Cody. You are welcome! Yes, do refrigerate it (Cover it with plastic foil or transfer into an airtight container).
Ive just made the pie crust and baked
It seems very wet when mixing and has brown a lot on edges and not so much in the middle
Should I add more flour if it’s too wet next time? What consistency should the dough be? Thank you
Hi Camille. The crust is quite wet. You can check a video in the post to see if it was similar or not. If yes, it should be like that. But if yours was way too liquidy, then add a bit of flour next time. As for the browning, every oven is different so this could be the issue. Next time, try to cover the edges if worried that the edges will burn. Hope this helps.
I haven’t made this yet, but am wondering about the amounts for the filling as it hardly seems like enough to fill the crust. It calls for 1 egg, 1/4 c. Heavy cream , 1/4 c. sugar and about 1/3 c lemon juice. That hardly seems like enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan. It simply says to whisk the ingredients so I interpret that as not really whipping the heavy cream into any stiffer peaks. Also, my tart pan is 9.5in. so I was planning to double the filling. Please advise as I’d love to make this. Thanks much.
Hi Donna. So sorry for the late reply. Just to clarify: Yes it is only a little filling but plenty for a shallow pan which it was made in. You don’t beat the heavy cream separately. Yes, I would recommend doubling the filling if you are using a larger pan or if you have a deeper pan.
Can I made this days before? How to do and store?
Hi Jessica. To be honest, this is best enjoyed shortly after being baked. It will be tasty the following days as well but as with many baked goods, the quality and freshness will change. Not sure how many days you would like to make it ahead. If you make it ahead, don’t go over 3 days. Perhaps 2 would be better. Then I would let it cool completely, wrap in a plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Please take this as a guide only because I have not done it to test it myself. This is what I would do. Hope this helps!