Snack · 75 min · french

Tarte au Citron

All-purpose flour does the heavy lifting here, with unsalted butter rounding it out. A French snack that takes 75 minutes, start to finish.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
• 0.75 cup Unsalted butter
• 0.5 cup Powdered sugar
• 4 Lemons
• 3 Eggs
• 0.75 cup Granulated sugar

Steps

1. Rub the flour, butter, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt together until sandy, then bind with one beaten egg yolk and a spoon of cold water. Press into a 9-inch tart pan, prick the base, and chill 30 minutes — cold dough going into a hot oven shrinks less.
2. Blind-bake at 375°F with parchment and weights for 15 minutes, remove the weights, and bake 10 minutes more until pale gold. Any cracks, patch with a dab of reserved raw dough; the curd will find every weakness.
3. Whisk the lemon juice and zest with the eggs and granulated sugar, then cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Do not let it boil — boiled curd turns grainy and loses its shine.
4. Pour the hot curd into the warm shell and bake 8 more minutes, just to set the surface. Cool completely, then chill. A great tarte au citron slices cleanly and the curd holds its edge — that is how you know the curd was cooked enough.
5. Serve plain or torched with a whisper of meringue. The balance to chase: bright enough to make your eyes widen, sweet enough that you go back for a second slice.

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