Lemon Cream Tart

Lovers of citrus fruits, discover this sophisticated and elegant lemon cream tart recipe! It is made with a coconut dacquoise base, a tangy lemon cream that is beautifully balanced with Italian meringue.

This lemon cream tart (Tarte à la crème de citron in French) is quite unusual: there is no tart crust (as we get used to), and the lemon cream has such a soft texture that you will be impressed while making it.

Lemon cream tart recipe

To make a classic tart, the greatest difficulty lies in baking a tart shell.

But you will be happy to know that you do not need to make it by sweating at rolling the dough and pressing it into a tart pan. 

This lemon cream tart recipe is made with a coconut dacquoise base that replaces a traditional tart crust.

Lemon cream is made with pure lemon juice and has a strong citrus flavor and taste. So, this tart is the best dessert for a lemon lover.

The dessert is also pipped with Italian meringue alternated with lemon cream and sprinkled with lime zest.

According to Serious Eats, Italian meringue made by whisking a hot sugar syrup into egg whites,

is safe to eat without additional baking.

To simplify the recipe or those concerned about raw eggs, omit the meringue and pipe the only lemon cream.

Decorate the tart with store-bought meringues, candied lemon, and lime zest.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This lemon cream tart recipe is easy to make.
2. The dessert is gluten-free due to the making of almond and coconut dacquoise tart base.
3. The creamy lemon tart topping has a strong tangy note that is harmonized with the meringue's sweetness.
4. The lemon cream recipe is perfect to use while making other pastries, such as cream puffs, eclairs, etc.
5. The tart is very refreshing and is perfect to finish a heavy meal.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Eggs: use large whole eggs and egg whites at room temperature. To make the meringue, use pasteurized egg whites to serve the tart for kids, pregnant women, or you are concerned about salmonella bacteria in raw eggs. Please, read on how to pasteurize eggs at home.

Sugar: to make a coconut dacquoise, please, use caster sugar or process granulated sugar with a food processor to make it superfine. To make the meringue, use any white sugar.

Lemon juice: make it yourself using a citrus juicer. Please, avoid using a bottled lemon juice that is especially sour, tart, and sometimes even bitter. Fresh lemon juice is essential to make lemon cream.

Gelatin: you will need ½ gelatin sheet with a strength of 200 bloom.

Butter: the recipe calls for softened unsalted butter. Take it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start.

Lime and lemon zest: use untreated citrus to make the zest with a zester grater.

Shredded coconut: it is the base of coconut dacquoise.

Almond flour: it is another dacquoise ingredient to make the tart's base.

How to make a lemon cream tart

To make the lemon cream, get fresh lemon juice by using a citrus juicer. Soak half of the gelatin sheet in cold water for 10 minutes.

Pour lemon juice, add sugar, drained gelatin, lemon zest (from 3 lemons), and eggs in a small saucepan and mix.

Heat the mixture over medium heat to 185 F/85 C, constantly stirring (photo 1). Pass the preparation through a fine-mesh sieve to get the zests.

Cover it with plastic film in contact and let cool. When the preparation is about 113 F/45 C, add the softened butter little by little and mix with a rubber spatula (photo 2).

Cover the cream with plastic in contact and refrigerate overnight.

To make coconut dacquoise, preheat the oven to 355 F/180 C. Butter an 8-inch/20 cm cake ring and place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mix almond flour and coconut and set aside. Using a stand mixer or an electric mixer, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.

Gradually add caster sugar to get a glossy meringue (photo 3). Using the spatula, gently incorporate the dry mixture in two batches (photo 4).

Transfer the preparation to a pastry bag with Ateco plain pastry tip 809 or a cut tip and push a spiral into the cake ring (photo 5).

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (photo 6). Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the meringue, whisk egg whites with a stand or electric mixer until they are foamy.

Heat sugar with water to 250 F/121 C, checking it with a cooking thermometer.

Slowly pour the sugar syrup into egg whites, constantly whisking. Beat the meringue until it is cooled down (photo 7).

To assemble the tart, place coconut dacquoise on a serving platter or a cake board.

Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with Ateco plain pastry tip 809.

Pipe large balls on the dacquoise in a circular pattern, skipping a "spot" that will be filled with the cream.

Using a hand-held blow torch, brown the meringue until slightly brown.

Place lemon cream in a pastry bag fitted with Ateco plain pastry tip 809 and pipe large drops between the piped meringue balls.

Using a zester grater, zest the lime over the tart (photo 8). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Expert tips

1. Make sure to use pasteurized egg whites if you are concerned about raw eggs.
2. To make the meringue and lemon cream balls/drops, press on the pastry bag, then lift to obtain these drops.
3. Pipe the meringue and lemon cream in staggered rows or any pattern you prefer.
4. Decorate the tart with slices of candied lemon if desired.
5. To make this lemon cream tart without meringue, double the cream and pipe it over the tart. Decorate it with small store-bought meringues and lime zest.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from www.notretemps.com. It was originally published on May 07, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.