By Jonathan Reynolds
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 45 minutes' refrigeration and up to 8 hours' steeping
- Rating
- 4(160)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Lucas Schoorman, a Chelsea art dealer and hobbyist baker, introduced this elegant lemon tart to the Times in 2004. It's a showstopper dessert featuring two distinct, delicious layers: one of frangipani, an almond-rich custard, and another of shimmering lemon confit scattered with slices of lemon. It is mellow and barely sweet, rich and deep, with none of the attack of so many lemon desserts.
Begin steeping the lemon slices the night before you're planning on baking the tart. This softens the rinds and coaxes out their bitterness.
Featured in: KITCHEN VOYEUR; Tart Dealer
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Ingredients
Yield:10 servings
- 4lemons, thinly sliced, ends and seeds discarded
- 1cup sugar
- 1vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- 2cups all-purpose flour
- 9tablespoons sugar
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 6tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
- 3large egg yolks
- 11tablespoons softened, unsalted butter
- ⅔cup ground almonds
- 2tablespoons flour
- ½cup sugar
- Grated zest from 1 lemon
- 2large eggs
Lemon Confit
Pastry Dough
Frangipani
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Make the confit: place sliced lemons in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Steep 4 to 8 hours.
Step
2
Drain lemons, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Simmer gently until lemon rind is just softened, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then drain the lemons again, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Return lemon slices and reserved liquid to the pan and add sugar and vanilla bean and seeds. Simmer 5 minutes. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer slices to a wire rack to cool.
Step
3
Return the pan with the liquid to the stove. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and reduced to about ⅔ cup. Discard the vanilla bean. Set aside.
Step
4
Make the pastry dough: pulse together the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until pieces are no larger than peas. Add yolks and pulse until you have a dough that just pulls away from the sides of the bowl; add a tablespoon or two of water if necessary. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Step
5
Remove the bottom from an 11-inch tart pan and place it on a work surface.
Step
6
Put two-thirds of the dough on top, and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough over the tart-pan bottom to cover. Using a knife, trim the excess dough. Lift and place bottom back in the tart ring. Using your fingers, break off bits of the remaining dough and press them onto the sides of the pan to cover. Roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Step
7
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover the dough with parchment paper, weigh down with rice or beans and bake until edges are just browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and remove parchment and rice.
Step
8
Make the filling: in the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter. Beat in almonds and flour. Beat in sugar and zest. Beat in eggs one at a time. Scrape into the baked crust and return to the oven. Bake until filling is browned and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
Step
9
Lay lemon slices over top of tart. Gently reheat lemon syrup and pour over tart. Tart may be served chilled or at room temperature.
Ratings
4
out of 5
160
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Cooking Notes
Thomas Sherman
A very interesting, sophisticated and delicious alternative to a typical lemon tart. My guests loved it completely. The recipe could be more clearly written, but it works. I understand now why the crust needed to be assembled in this odd manner - it is difficult to roll out in the normal way. And I now understand how the reduced lemon syrup works - it gels on top from extracted lemon pectins. Be very gentle with the lemon slices to prevent them falling apart. Excellent recipe.
Barry
This is one of the best finds ever! I find it better to use only about ⅔ of the sugar called for, and also to use an extra lemon for both taste and coverage.
Slicing the lemons is easier if you slice each lemon from the ends to its middle rather than trying to go straight though.
MelissaJane
I will make this again and again. Made with Meyer lemons, and had to add lemon juice to the reduction to make it more tart. Don't get the slices too thin or they'll fall apart esp. if the lemons are seedy. Used my standard sweet tart dough instead of what sounds like a PITA recipe. Outstanding and beautiful.
A. Fein
Substitute blood oranges for the lemon for a delicious and beautiful alternative.
Patricia C
Maybe I wasn't concentrating enough, but I found this recipe very complex and labour intensive, and the result was not great at my Easter dinner.
I will accept blame for a doughy pastry, as I am not a dab hand with the pastry. But the lemon curd (or confit) was not as tart as it should have been, the frangipani was unremarkable. All of it took many steps.
Anyone else have difficulty with this?
It looked so good!
Jacqueline
Thanks for the tip - I used the thick rather than thin option on my mandoline thanks to your note, tried a few paper thin slices just as a test, and after the entire process I can vouch that you don't want to go too thin:)
Bubikon
This is an excellent recipe, well worth the effort. It has essentially four layers of delicious lemon of different consistency. My dough needed about three tablespoons of water and I rolled the whole thing out instead of pushing the dough into the sides. Larger lemons have a tendency to have the insides break down during the simmering process but that is minor. This dessert is among the best
Evee
I once greatly enjoyed a very similar tart at a long-defunct bakery in Montclair District. Have searched for the recipe for over 30 years. This may have solved my quest. Thank you.
Ombret
I made this twice. The first time it turned out exactly as depicted. Amazing! I felt like a genius because I finally understood how pectin works. The second time I followed the recipe exactly (exact timing, exact measurements) and the syrup did not set. I was left with a soggy mess. This is a high-stakes mistake if you are counting on this rather complicated recipe to provide dessert to your guests.
Carolyn
Nice! Unfussy once you have the hang of it. Stuck to the pans, so I'll use flour next time. Too sweet for my pie eaters. The crust & frangiapane combo are a great canvas for experimentation, though, so a great recipe just on that basis.
Carolyn
Wish this was in metric.
Ryan
I'd make the syrup later than described as I couldn't get the nice sheen of the syrup once it had been reheated. I'd pour it straight onto the tart once it has finished baking.
wendy
Picture implies only a few lemon slices on top, but i used most of the slices. Is that then intent? Fingers crossed it is as tasty as it looks.
Kigali Jill
A worthwhile “lesson”: steeping lemons and making confit. Used a pâté sucrée at the ready from the freezer, made crust for 4 small springforms. Note Re the vanilla bean: scrape the seeds AND KEEP THEM. I read scrape —and associated “discard”. Oopsie, I had to run to the store for their last $19 bottle of vanilla bean. Labor intensive, lovely looking, though neither sweet nor tarty enough for me. Glad I made this though doubt that I will reconfigure or make it again.
Kristy
Sophisticated, lovely dessert. Quite a few steps, but not too complicated. Beautiful, delicious, and appreciated lemon tart. Slice your lemons as thin as possible.
Annamariep
Made this yesterday. Yummy. I did not have an eleven inch tart pan. Used a ten inch spring pan. The crust is a bit too thick! Not too much, but it would have been better thinner. Handling crust is a skill. I worried it was too dry, as it was very crumbly to put together and put in fridge first time. Soaked lemons overnight as suggested. I will make this again and May even get the right size pan. My diners loved it.
Mark
The crust would be thicker since it was intended for 11 inch and you made a 10 inch.
Evee
I once greatly enjoyed a very similar tart at a long-defunct bakery in Montclair District. Have searched for the recipe for over 30 years. This may have solved my quest. Thank you.
Mike
Fantastic recipe! My almond paste came out thick, and I'd recommend whipping it before putting it on the crust. Also, my lemon slices were very roughed up by the time it came to lay them on top of the cake. The cake in the photo looks like it has freshly-sliced lemon rounds, which are prettier but unappetizing to me. If your candied rounds come out like mine, I'd recommend just adding the confit to the tart and saving the candied lemon slices for something else.
kathyandzac
It’s easier if you start with soaking the lemons and putting your 11 tablespoons of butter to get to room temperature. Then make the crust and frangipani. While the crust is baking, mix the ingredients for the frangipani. Yes, there are multiple steps to the lemon confit but they are worth it!
Lisa C
I agree with Patricia C - this was very very pretty, but lots of work, and not terribly delicious. A bit bland. It was a fun project, but I was disappointed with the final product.
Bubikon
This is an excellent recipe, well worth the effort. It has essentially four layers of delicious lemon of different consistency. My dough needed about three tablespoons of water and I rolled the whole thing out instead of pushing the dough into the sides. Larger lemons have a tendency to have the insides break down during the simmering process but that is minor. This dessert is among the best
Christine Wunderli
This is a wonderful recipe. It has taken a little time for this latecomer cook to master it, but its refinement has been well worth the work. Here, a few possible tips: 1) the confit MUST be adjusted to taste, according to the type and size of lemons used; 2) when grating the last lemon for the filling, I squeeze its juice into the mix, too; 3) I do have to add four tablespoons of water to the pastry mix to make it pliable enough to work with it; 4) the recipe works well with limes - try it!
Amy S
I have made this tart many times and it's always fabulous. I pretty much follow the recipe and it always turns out beautifully. I love the look and taste of the candied lemons.
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