French Tarte Au Citron Recipe (Lemon Tart) is so impressive people will think it came right from a French Bakery! There’s something truly wonderful about homemade lemon tart recipes. . . they require a bit more time in the kitchen however the results are so worth the effort! Our French Tarte Au Citron Recipe or French Lemon Tart begins with a perfectly flakey sweet tart dough, which makes the perfect compliment for the tang of a homemade lemon filling, and then garnished with a dollop of Créme Fraîche! Bon Appétit.
My love of French pastries & our French Tarte Au Citron Recipe!
I fell in love with pastry shops and cafes all over France and I found them simply impossible to pass up when I when I’m in France. Of course I have to do my fair share of taste testing! There are so varieties of pastries that you’d think it’s all the French eat, right?! Surprisingly the ending to many French meals are a fresh, ripe fruits and a lovely wedge of cheese. They also typically follow meals with black coffee as a digestive.
Cakes and baked goods are usually eaten as a separate meal in the late afternoon or for special occasions. The French have so many wonderful pastries available at local bakery shops, that the food at home baking is kept pretty simple. They also like to bake rustic fruit tarts and cakes using things available in their orchards or gardens.
Culinary Journey around the World & French Tarte Au Citron Recipe!
In our Culinary Journey we’ve explored the beautiful country of France; we started off with a classic crêpes recipe French Pâte à Crêpes recipe. Then, held onto 8-10 of them and made a French Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine, and we also made some traditional French Crème Fraîche! Today we’re using the Créme Fraîche which we needed for our amazing French Potage Saint-Germain soup as well as todays recipe.
Today, we’re finishing up our time in France with this French Tarte Au Citron which uses last weeks French Pâte Brisée Sucrée for the crust! Plus, it uses a 1/4 cup of our French Crème Fraîche! Our French Tarte Au Citron needs two of our other French Culinary Journey recipes… French Crème Fraîche, French Pâte Brisée Sucrée . This tart is really very simple to make and who doesn’t have room for a slice of bittersweet lemon tart at the end of a meal. 🙂
Experience our French Tarte Au Citron Recipe & some of these too!
- French Pâte à Crêpes Recipe
- French Potage Saint-GermainS Soup
- French Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine
- French Endive Salad & Louvre Museum
- French Crème Fraîche
- French Onion Soup with Baguette
- French Pâte Brisée Sucrée
- Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe
- French Endive Salad & Louvre Museum
- French Baguette & Sacré-Cœur, Paris
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I love this pastry shop in Paris. . .
French Tarte Au Citron Recipe

French Tarte Au Citron Recipe (Lemon Tart) is so impressive people will think it came right from a French Bakery!
Ingredients
- Lemon Tart Filling:
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, appox 3 lemons
- 1/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
- Sweet Tart Dough (French Pâte Brisée Sucrée):
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 8 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 5 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepared crust -French Pâte Brisée Sucrée, blind baked as directed.
- While tart dough is baking make filling:
- In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar; mix until smooth.
- Add lemon juice; mix well.
- Add creme fraiche or heavy cream; mix.
- Slowly whisk in melted butter until smooth.
- Place baking sheet on rack in oven, then place blind baked crust on a baking sheet (for ease in moving and to catch any spillage.)
- Pour filling into crust, and carefully adjust in the center of the oven, bake 20-25 minutes or until filling is set.
- Cool on rack for 2 hours before chilling in fridge.
- Serve with additional sweetened Creme Fraiche or whipped cream.
- Enjoy!
Sweet Tart Dough (French Pâte Brisée Sucrée):
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sea salt, and sugar; mix to combine.
Cut in butter 5-6 pieces at a time with a pastry cutter or by using two knifes, add shortening in the same way; will resemble coarse meal.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over dough and mix with pastry cutter.
Repeat until all water is incorporated and dough just begins to come together.
Lightly dust counter with flour, turn out dough, and gently knead 2-3 times until it forms a ball.
Flatten the dough to a 1/2-inch thick disk.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Remove dough from plastic wrap, sprinkle both sides with flour and roll into a circle approximately 1/8-inch thick and 2-inches larger than the diameter of the pan.
Carefully lay the rolled-out dough over the a rolling pin and position in the center of an 8-11 inch tart pan, gently fit to pan without stretching the dough.
Fold the excess dough over the inside edge of the pan so the sides are slightly thicker, press the dough up and over the the rip of the pan, run rolling pin over the top of the pan to trim off excess dough.
Place the pan in the fridge and chill for 1 hour before filling and baking or baking blind.
To blind bake: pick bottom of chilled unbaked tart shell, pick approx 1/2 inch apart.
Line dough a sheet of aluminum foil and press to edges, fill with an even layer of dried beans or pie weights.
Bake 400 degrees F for 8 minutes, carefully remove foil with beans or weights.
Make some additional pricks with fork and bake 5-7 minutes more or until crust is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool to room temperature then fill.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 385Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 162mgSodium: 178mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 16gProtein: 7g
Sit down with us and enjoy a slice of today’s French Tarte Au Citron Recipe!
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Love Always,
Ruthie & Madeliene
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