Lemon Curd Puff Pastry Tarts
Flaky, golden puff pastry shells filled with silky, tart-sweet lemon curd. The curd goes in after baking, so the pastry stays shatter-crisp. Perfect for brunch, baby showers, or a slow Saturday morning.
Equipment
- Rimmed Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Sharp knife or pizza cutter
- Fork
- Pastry brush
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Zester
- Small Measuring Cup or Spoon
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (80 ml), from 2 to 3 lemons
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (85g), cut into small cubes
- 1 pinch salt
Pastry and Assembly
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (half of a 17.3-ounce box)
- 1 large egg + 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Fresh raspberries or blueberries (optional)
Instructions
- Zest 2 to 3 lemons until you have 1 tablespoon, then juice them into a measuring cup until you hit a third of a cup. Zest first, juice second — a lemon that is already juiced is miserable to zest.
- In a small saucepan, whisk the yolks, sugar, and zest together for a full minute, until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the mixture turns pale yellow. Whisk in the lemon juice. It will look thin. That is normal.
- Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly with the whisk. No breaks. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a clean line when you drag your finger through it.
- Pull the pan off the heat and whisk in the cold butter, a few cubes at a time, letting each addition melt before the next. Stir in the pinch of salt. Taste it now. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and put it in the fridge while you do the pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold the thawed puff pastry. If it cracked during thawing, give it two minutes at room temperature before you touch it. Cut it into 8 equal rectangles — no need to re-roll scraps, just trim the edges straight.
- Score a line 1/2 inch in from each edge with a knife, cutting about halfway through. Poke the inside of each rectangle all over with the fork, about every inch.
- Whisk the egg with a splash of water until it is uniform. Brush only the borders — the half-inch rim around the edge of each rectangle. Not the centers.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until the borders are tall, deep golden brown, and dry-looking. If your oven runs hot, check at 14. They should look like golden picture frames with pale parchment centers.
- The moment they come out of the oven, press the center of each one down with the back of a small measuring cup or the back of a spoon. Do this while they are hot, or the pastry will crack instead of give. A little crack is fine — the curd covers it.
- Cool the shells on the pan for 10 minutes; they finish crisping as they settle. Spoon the curd into each well, about 1 1/2 tablespoons per tart, then top with raspberries and dust with powdered sugar right before serving.
Notes
Make the curd up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate in a sealed jar. Baked unfilled shells keep overnight in a sealed container or freeze for up to a month; re-crisp at 350°F for 5 to 6 minutes before filling. Filled tarts are best the same day — the curd will soften the pastry overnight. Do not freeze filled tarts.
Dairy-free: use a rich cultured vegan butter in the curd and check that your puff pastry is dairy-free. Jarred lemon curd works in a pinch — use 3/4 cup of a good one, at room temperature.