Mini Lemon Tarts
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Mini lemon tarts featuring a pâte sablé pastry shell, a homemade lemon curd, and a lavender whipped cream garnish. The sweetest lemon curd tartlets, inspired by the classic French tarte au citron.
What Inspired These Mini Lemon Tarts?
One of the first dishes we learned to make during Basic Pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu was the classic tarte au citron. This traditional French tart features a pâte sucrée shell, a lemon curd filling, and, usually, a decorative piped meringue topping. You’ll find variations of the tarte au citron at pâtisseries, bakeries, and bistros all across France, although recently I’ve spotted plenty of lemon tarts at bakeries in London and New York, too.
Inspired by the French classic, these mini lemon tarts replace the sweet pastry with an almond sablé and skip the meringue in favor of piped lavender whipped cream. Impressive-looking but surprisingly easy to make, these are one-of my go-to bakes for a summer dinner party dessert. Each guest gets their own little tart, so no fighting over the last slice!
Ingredients for Making Miniature Lemon Tarts
To make these mini lemon tarts, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Flour – All purpose flour (plain flour, in the UK) forms the base for the pastry dough.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) sweetens the dough.
- Almond Flour – A small amount of almond flour adds a nutty note, and gives the pastry structure. I like this dough because it’s less prone to shrinkage than a traditional pie crust. (And I love having some almond flour left over to make macarons, or my favorite flourless orange almond cake!)
- Kosher Salt – Kosher salt adds flavor, strengthens the dough, and helps to balance moisture levels.
- Unsalted Butter – Cold butter is the key to making a good sablé. If the butter is too warm, it will melt in your hands rather than crumbling into the dry ingredients to create the signature “sandy” texture. See my notes below.
- Egg – You’ll need about half of a large egg. Don’t add the whole thing or your dough will contain too much moisture. I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh the egg, as well as the other ingredients.
- Lemon – I like to add the zest of one lemon to my sablé dough to enhance the lemon flavor. For finely zested lemon, opt for a Microplane rather than a box grater.
- Lemon Curd – You’ll need one batch of my homemade lemon curd, for filling the tart shells. If you’re short on time feel free to substitute a store-bought lemon curd, but fresh really is best. And if you don’t care for lemon, you can make these tartlets with another homemade citrus curd, such as orange or lime.
Preparing the Lemon Curd
Made by tempering hot lemon juice into beaten eggs and sugar, then cooking everything on the stovetop until thick and custard-like, my homemade lemon curd is easy to prepare and provides the perfect canvas for garnishes like berries, fresh herbs, edible flowers, or lavender whipped cream.
For ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and helpful tips, please visit my lemon curd recipe. You can also watch the video below to see how I make it:
Making the Sablé Tart Shells
For the tart shells, I’ve used pâte sablé, a traditional French pastry dough made with butter, confectioner’s sugar, all purpose flour, eggs, and almond flour. I love sablé (which means “sandy” in French—a reference to the sandy texture the ingredients form when you rub them together with your fingertips) for its versatility. In addition to tart and tartlet shells, it’s also one of my go-to cookie doughs.
You won’t need a mixer to make the sablé dough. Instead, you’ll use your hands to work the butter into the dry ingredients by smearing them across your countertop. Then you’ll roll the dough between sheets of parchment, chill it, and cut it into discs to fit inside each tartlet pan. Watch me demonstrate the process below:
Recommended Tools and Equipment
To make these mini lemon tartlets you will need a set of six 4-inch tartlet pans. Pans with a removable bottom work best.
You’ll also need a rolling pin to roll the pastry dough; a sharp paring knife for trimming the shells; a small stepped palette knife for spreading the lemon curd; and, if garnishing with dots of lavender whipped cream as shown in my photos, a disposable piping bag fitted with a round metal piping tip.
Garnishing and Serving Miniature Lemon Tarts
For this batch, I piped each tartlet with dots of homemade lavender whipped cream, then added sprigs of fresh garden lavender for a lavender-lemon twist. (If you love a good lavender lemon pairing as much as I do, you’ll also love my lavender lemonade, or these chocolate, lavender and lemon cookies!) Other garnish ideas for these mini lemon tarts include fresh fruit (raspberries, blackberries); strips of candied lemon peel or dried citrus slices; leaves of fresh basil or mint; thin slices of fresh lemon; edible flowers; or even tiny flakes of edible gold leaf.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
The homemade lemon curd can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Lined tartlet pans can be refrigerated or frozen overnight.
Other lemon curd recipes you might enjoy:
Lemon Curd Hand Pies
Lemon Icebox Cake
Classic Lemon Curd Recipe
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Print
Mini Lemon Tarts
- Total TimeAbout 2 1/2 hours
- Yield6 4-inch tartlets 1x
Mini lemon tarts featuring a pâte sablé pastry shell, a homemade lemon curd filling, and a lavender whipped cream garnish.
Ingredients
Nonstick spray, for greasing tins
128 grams all purpose flour (1 cup)
65 grams confectioner’s sugar (1/2 cup)
25 grams almond flour (1/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
60 grams unsalted butter (4 tablespoons), cold and cubed
25 grams beaten egg (about 1/2 egg)
Zest of 1 lemon, optional
1 recipe homemade lemon curd, for filling*
Lavender whipped cream, edible flowers, berries, or sprigs of fresh lavender, to garnish
Instructions
Tart shells:
Spray six 4-inch tartlet pans with nonstick spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, confectioner’s sugar, almond flour, and kosher salt. Add butter and rub it between your palms and fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the middle of the bowl. Add the beaten egg and use a fork to work it into the flour. (Mixture will seem dry and sandy.) Mix in lemon zest, if using.
Turn out onto unfloured surface and use your hands to “smear” across the countertop until a soft dough forms.**
Flatten into a disc. Place dough between two sheets of parchment and use a rolling pin to roll to no more than 1/8-inch thickness. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Peel away one side of the parchment. With a sharp paring knife, cut into circles, about 1/2-inch larger than your tartlet pans. Flip onto rings and peel away remaining parchment. Use your fingertips to press the dough into the pans. Do not trim. Re-roll scraps and line remaining pans.
Refrigerate 25-30 minutes, or until pastry feels firm to the touch.
With a sharp paring knife, trim away excess pastry. Freeze 30 minutes, or until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 325° F (160° C). Bake 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely in tartlet pans.
Spoon 50-55 grams (about 3 tablespoons) lemon curd into each cooled shell. Smooth with a small stepped palette knife or the back of a metal spoon.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, garnish each tart with lavender whipped cream, edible flowers, berries, or sprigs of fresh lavender.
Store mini lemon tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chilling/Freezing Time: 1 1/2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pies and Tarts
- Method: Oven
