Lemon Berry Tart
A light, summery tart filled with lemon cream and topped with lots of fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
I think one of the first things I baked at home once I decided to attend culinary school and become a “serious” baker was a tart just like this— a sweet pastry dough crust with a homemade vanilla pastry cream and fresh berries. It wasn’t a huge challenge, but there was just something about being able to make one of my favorite bakery treats at home all by myself.
It was definitely a proud moment, and one that made me think “okay, I can do this.”
Fast forward almost 10 years (what?!) and countless baked treats later, and tarts are still one of my favorite desserts. Both to look at and eat. They’re just so pretty and sophisticated. They’re fancy, and even a little bit dainty.
But for whatever reason, I don’t make them nearly often enough. Time to change that, starting with this lemon berry tart!
It’s not hard, but neither is it as simple as baking up a batch of cookies. You’ll need a little time and concentration to make the crust and filling and then put it all together. But if I could do it as a baking novice, then you surely can too, regardless of your experience in the kitchen.
And you should! Because this tart is just lovely and absolutely delicious. The crust is crisp and buttery, the creamy filling has a nice subtle lemon flavor, and the brightness of the summer berries steals the whole show.
Lemon Berry Tart
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (160 grams)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter , cubed (113 grams)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2-3 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
- 2 cups whole milk (500 ml)
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cups granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (28 grams)
- Zest 1 lemon
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , cubed (56 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon , juiced
- 2-3 cups fresh berries , such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries
Equipment
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor.
- Add the cubed butter and cut into the other ingredients with a pastry blender until coarse and sandy, or if you're using a food processor, pulse in short bursts.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of the ice water. Add to the flour mixture and use a spoon or your hands (or a few pulses) to bring it together into a ball. If needed, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge 1 hour. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead.)
- On a floured surface, roll the crust out to a rough 12 or 13-inch circle. Transfer to a greased 8-inch tart pan and press it in gently. Remove any overhanging crust.
- Chill in the fridge 30 minutes. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead, cover with plastic wrap.)
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line chilled crust with greased foil and fill tart with baking weights, dry rice, or beans. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and weights and bake for 10 minutes more, until golden. Remove and cool completely.
For the filling:
- Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear at the edges. Do not bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Mixture will be very thick. When milk is warm, add to the egg mixture in a small steady stream while whisking constantly.
- Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, while stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface of the custard. Chill completely, 1-2 hours.
To assemble tart:
- Stir cooled custard until smooth and spread into the tart crust.
- Top tart with fresh berries. Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge for up to 2 hours. Tart is best the day it is assembled, but can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
Notes
Notes:
- Crust can be made in advance. Store crust dough in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month. Store baked (unfilled) tart shell at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
- Prepare the filling at any time while the crust dough is chilling or being baked, and up to 1 week in advance.
This looks absolutely succulent!
Thanks Sandra! 🙂
May I ask a few crust questions? (I apologize if you’ve already talked about this elsewhere.) When you say coarse and sandy, is that different from pie crust with the bigger blobs of butter? I’m imagining more like a panko texture, is that close? Finer than pie crust, but not homogenous like cookie dough? I’m not super experienced with crusts and am trying to figure out what to look for. I’ve also never made pudding before, but this looks fairly doable, especially the part about tempering the eggs with warm (not hot) milk. Thanks!
Hi Erin! Yes, you are on the right track. Sweet pastry dough is not meant to be flaky like pie crust, so you don’t need big chunks of butter within the dough. The butter should be broken up and mixed pretty uniformly within the dry ingredients, but you don’t want to blend it so much that it softens the butter and it blends into the dry ingredients. Does that make sense? Feel free to send any other questions my way! 🙂
Absolutely beautiful tart!! And oh so perfect for the season 🙂
Thank you so much Sues!
Delicious! My family loved it. I did run into trouble with my custard, which I’ve never made before, being soupy. I read online that it could be re-thickened. I’m not sure if I didn’t cook enough the first time, but I added a 1/2 tablespoon more cornstarch, brought to boil, and continued to stir for 2 minutes and it came out perfect!
Can I use parchment paper instead of foil for baking the crust?
Sure!