Lemon Crème Brûlée Tart

Lemon crème brûlée tart, also known as tarte au citron or French lemon tart, is a classic dessert that is always popular with both young and old.

With its buttery pâté sucrée base, enriched with almonds and lemon zest, and it's creamy lemon filling that's light and delicious, it's already perfect! But, I've taken this dessert to the next level by giving the top a brûlée crust that makes it impossible to resist sinking your fork into.

Trust me, this is total heaven on a plate. And the best bit about this recipe is that it's not difficult.

Follow my step by step instructions together with plenty of hints and tips and cheats for the pastry.

Bon appétit!   

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking time
• 🥗 Serve with
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

If this lemon crème brûlée tart looks difficult to do then believe me it's not! The pâté sucrée is just French for sweet pastry and it's really easy to work with. This means that, if you end up with cracks and stuck on bits, then it really doesn't matter and it will 'heal' itself when it is baked.

If you are looking for a dessert that has it all then it has to be this French lemon tart and here's why you will love it.

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Easily serves 10 people.
• Make in advance.
• Slices easily.
• Delicious on its own.
• Perfect for elegant get togethers or family dining.
• No 'rubbing in' of the pastry .

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🥘 Ingredients

• Butter - unsalted butter is best for baking so that you can add salt as needed. The butter also needs to be soft as it is not rubbed into the flour but creamed with the sugar.
• Sugar - you will need icing sugar, (confectioners sugar) and caster sugar (superfine) for the pâté sucrée pastry base and the lemon filling.
• Salt - cooking or kosher salt for the pastry
• Eggs - large and free range
• Ground almonds - this adds an extra crumbly nuttiness to the base. Replace the same amount with plain flour if you prefer.
• Flour - plain or all purpose white flour.
• Lemons - zest and juice of lemons, preferably unwaxed.
• Cream - double or heavy whipping cream.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• Food processor - optional
• Pastry brush
• 23 cm / 9 inch loose bottomed flan tin
• Whisk or fork
• Micro grater
• Lemon juicer
• Large bowl
• Wooden Spoon
• Blowtorch
• Clingfilm
• Baking parchment
• Baking beans
• Tea strainer or sieve
• Rolling Pin
• Baking tray
• 1 litre jug

🔪 Instructions

You will need the zest of one of the lemons for the pastry so start by zesting the lemons and then juicing them.

Start by making the pâté sucrée pastry for the French lemon tart, which you can make by hand or in the food processor.

By hand

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until pale and fully mixed.

Whisk the egg to break it up then beat into the mixture with the zest of one of the lemons.

Stir the almonds and flour together then combine with the butter mixture.

Use your hands to squeeze the mixture together to form a dough.

By food processor

Put the egg, butter, sugar and lemon zest into a processor bowl and process for 10-15 seconds until well combined.

Tip in the flour and almonds and pulse until the mixture comes together.

For both methods gather the pastry together, knead lightly and place on a piece of cling film.

Use your fingers to form a rough ball shape then flatten with the palms of your hand.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and ideally 2 hours.

💭 Top tip

• By letting the pastry cool in the refrigerator the butter solidifies, after softening in the processor or by using the spoon. This makes it much easier to roll out without sticking or breaking.

While the pastry is resting prepare the filling.

Whisk together the 6 eggs with the caster sugar in a large bowl.

Add the lemon juice, remaining zest and cream and stir together.

Transfer to a 1 litre jug and cover with cling film for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

💭 Top tip

• Leave the filling in the fridge for at least two hours and up to 2 days. This allows all the flavours to develop together.
• Putting the mixture into a jug means it takes up less time in the fridge and also makes it easier to fill the tart tin before baking.

Unwrap the pastry from the fridge and dust the worktop with a little flour.

Roll the pastry out and line the tart tin. Trim the edges and lightly fork the base.

Chill for 20 minutes in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer.

How to bake blind

• When you have a wet filling in a large pastry case it helps to bake the pastry blind first before adding the filling. This makes sure that you get a crisp pastry base.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/180FAN/Gas6. Take a square of baking parchment 30cm/12inch square and fold into quarters, then fold again through the middle. Hold the fold to the middle of the tin and trim off the outside edge of the paper. You will be left with a circle that lines the  pastry to protect it from getting burnt. Scrunch the paper up into a ball to make it easier to shape the paper to cover the pastry.
• Add some ceramic baking beans to the paper. This will stop the pastry from rising up and the paper from moving. If you don't have ceramic beans then use any dried beans or rice and keep them separate for this purpose.
• Place the tin on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Carefully peel back the paper. If the pastry is set then remove the paper and beans.
• Beat the egg yolk and use a pastry brush to seal the base then return to the oven for 8 more minutes until glazed.
• Remove the pastry from the oven and reduce the heat down to 150C/300F/130FAN/Gas2 ready to cook the filling.

⏲️ Baking time

Put the pastry case back into the oven on the baking tray.

Stir the lemon filling mixture and then carefully pour into the case while it is still in the oven.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the mixture is set and doesn't wobble in the middle.

Allow the lemon tart to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then carefully lift it out. I normally use a cup to do this.

Let the tart cool completely before completing the brûlée topping.

Use a tea strainer to sprinkle the remaining icing sugar over the top of the tart.

Lightly scorch the sugar with the blow torch until just coloured and then allow the top to set. This will give you a golden crust on the top of the filling.

Refrigerate the lemon crème brûlée tarttart until you ready to serve.

Delicious!

🥗 Serve with

This tarte au citron is delicious on its own but you could serve it with quenelles of:

• Whipped double cream
• Vanilla ice cream
• Crème fraîche
• Mascarpone

If you like creamy desserts you may like to try these ideas.

Some of them don't even have any cream in them!

• Flummery
• Raspberry Cranachan
• Creamed Rice Pudding
• Butterscotch Tart
• Lemon Syllabub
• Baileys Sabayon
• Lavender Crème Brûlée
• Baileys Crème Brûlée
• Chocolate Delice
• Chocolate Bavarois
• Chocolate Mousse
• Strawberry Eton Mess
• Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
• Salted Caramel Mille Feuille

🥙 Substitutions

• Ground almonds - if you prefer not to use nuts replace the almonds with plain flour.

📖 Variations

• Orange tart - replace the lemons and zest with 3 large oranges.
• Lime tart - use the zest and juice of 4 limes.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - keep the tarte au citron covered with cling film in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - slice into portion and open freeze on parchment paper on a tray, then transfer to containers for up to 3 months. The brûlée topping will lose its crunch.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make the whole tart in advance for easy entertaining. Alternatively, make the pastry base and l prepare the lemon filling a couple of days before serving to get ahead.

🤔 FAQs

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More fruity desserts to try

• Raspberry Frangipane Tart
• Apple Terrine
• Chocolate and Cherry Roulade
• Raspberry Parfait
• Eve's Pudding
• Strawberry Galette
• Mini Cherry Clafoutis
• Caramel Apple Crumble Tart

📋 Recipe

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🍲 Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.

However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.

However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.