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French tart au citron showing a glossy, clean cut slice topped with finely grated lemon and lime zest

Tarte au citron (French Lemon Tart)

Jill Colonna
Authentic tarte au citron (French lemon tart) with a glossy lemon-lime filling set in a crisp pre-baked sweet pastry shell. No extra baking - just fresh citrus, eggs, butter and sugar chilled until perfectly smooth and cuts easily.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert, teatime
Cuisine French
Servings 10 people
Calories 185 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

1 quantity sweet pastry (pâte sucrée) - see recipe below

Lemon Tart Filling

  • 1 zest of one lemon finely grated (without white pith)
  • 150 g (5½ oz/ ⅔ cup) juice of 2 lemons and 1 lime
  • 150 g (5½ oz/ ¾ cup) sugar
  • 3 large eggs organic
  • 2 @2g gelatine sheets or 1 teaspoon powdered gelatine*
  • 140 g (5oz/10 tbsp) unsalted butter cold and cubed

Instructions
 

Sweet Tart Pastry

  • Follow the recipe for the pâte sucrée sweet tart base using a 24x2cm/9x1inch tart ring or loose-bottomed tart tin.
    Blind bake the pastry for 20 minutes as per the recipe. Remove the beans and parchment paper, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool, remove from the tart tin or ring and continue to cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon Tart Filling

  • Finely zest one of the lemons directly (avoiding the white pith) into a saucepan and, if using, soak the gelatine sheets in a separate bowl of cold water for 10 minutes (see for gelatine powder below).
  • Squeeze the juice of both the lemons and lime then strain to remove any pips. Weigh to reach the exact amount of liquid.
  • In the saucepan, whisk together the fresh lemon/lime juice with the zest, sugar and eggs. Once mixed together, put on a medium-low heat while continuing to whisk until the sauce bubbles and thickens (although don't boil for long). This should take 10 minutes max.
  • Take off the heat and strain to remove the zest (only if you prefer it smooth - I often keep it in). Whisk in the butter cubes and gelatine (sheets squeezed of excess water or add powder).
  • Pour directly into the tart shell. Cool then chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour to set.

Notes

To Serve

Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving to best enjoy the citrus flavours. Pair with Darjeeling or Russian Caravan tea or Champagne.

Storage

Keeps up to 5 days chilled in the fridge in a closed airtight tin or box without the pastry becoming soggy. Avoid cling film/plastic wrap.

Baking Notes

Gelatine: I don't recommend Agar-Agar as an alternative for this recipe. However, if you are vegetarian and prefer, then use just ½ teaspoon of Agar-Agar powder.
Measures: This recipe is best made using digital kitchen scales to weigh ingredients in precise metric grams or ounces. Cups are given as an approximate guide only. 

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 24mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 434IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword best tarte au citron recipe, French lemon tart, lemon tart, lemon tart filling recipe, tarte au citron
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