Whole-Lemon Tart Recipe (2024)

Just started making this dough and I find it way too dry and almost unworkable after taking it out of the Cuisinart. Did anyone else have the same problem?

Can I use all of oil or another oil in place of the butter?

Please use ripe, thin-skinned lemons (or limes, yum). Meyer lemons are wonderful in this. Those thick, knobby-skinned, full-of-pith regular lemons in the grocery store do NOT a good tart make.

As a Dorie Greenspan groupie, I looked in the book that this came from (Paris Sweets) and she said you could do it with key limes or regular limes - it is different, but just as good. As it happened, I had some very ripe, lovely small limes from a tree in my sunroom, and had been looking for a use for them, so I weighed out the limes - it came out to about 2 1/2 smallish limes = 1 typical lemon. It worked beautifully. The easiest tart filling ever.

Ok, I’ve now made this 6 times, and the key to getting it consistent & not overly bitter from the pith is to use a sharp peeler & peel all the zest off first. Then peel the pith on the lemon off like you would peel an orange & discard. Then slice the fruit, discarding the seeds. I decrease the sugar a bit because of the lack of pith. It now comes out perfect every time & is my go-to dessert.

They didn't include 3-4 TB of ice cold water on the ingredient list but that's what you'll need j

I think the whole point of including the pith is to include the subtle taste of bitterness into the tart filling - very much like what one finds in an excellent orange marmalade jam.

I loved this recipe. I have made it 3 times this week already (twice for work events and once for my family). I did reduce the sugar to just over a cup with no loss of flavor. Also worked using sucralose. A real keeper.

If you want something that also uses the whole lemon but has more texture, look up Shaker Lemon Pie.

If you absolutely need more liquid, but you want to avoid a tough crust, add a tablespoon of vodka, then a teaspoon of vodka at a time until the dough is moist enough. The alcohol will not interact with the proteins in the flour to create gluten, and the moisture will evaporate in the blind bake, leaving a flaky crust.

Yum- please use organically grown lemons to avoid sprays otherwise residing in the peel.

This is very similar to a Lemon Blender Pie. I made one a couple of days ago. Be careful not to include the pith. If your lemon has a thick skin, remove the zest with a vegetable peeler and discard the pith.

I've made a similar tart several times in the past. Different kinds of lemons give very different results. It was entirely different made with Meyer lemons, delicious but milder and lacking the sharp tang I like in lemon desserts. Some of my family preferred it that way.

I also found the pastry super dry, so added 1/2 tbsp more butter & a splash of vodka. Gave me enough moisture to get it into a workable dough. Baked up quite nice with an extra few minutes in my temperamental oven. I had a relatively thin-skinned lemon, and found the filling to be a bit sweet. Next time will try a lemon/lime combo. Looking forward to my next attempt!

Would be helpful to know how much the lemon weighs; mine vary greatly in size. No harm in adding a scant tablespoon of ice water to help the crust come together. I used slightly less than a cup of sugar and the filling was quite sweet enough using a Meyer lemon.

I have made this twice. Lower the sugar by about 1/3 if you don’t want it so sweet. Spray the springform pan before pouring the batter in. Use knife around edge before releasing. May not brown but if not jiggly is done.The slight bitter taste is amazing.

This is just delicious!

It should be called lemon marmalade tart. I had my doubts about using the whole lemon, and I was right. It adds a strong undertone of bitterness from the pith. According to the comments some like this; it reminds you of marmalade. Good for you. However the recipe did not mention anything about bitterness. I would have gladly zested and juiced the lemon to avoid this. My tart came out perfect but I found this recipe to be complete failure. I will not waste my time making this bitter tart again.

If you love lemons and want simple look up shaker-style double crusted lemon pie. You are welcome!

Not so nice. I get the idea, but it’s not great.

Used a large lemon with all the pith and then fretted about it. Not to worry - it was delightful and as perfect a lemon tart as I've made.My crust was 1/3rds whole wheat, all purpose, and whole wheat pastry flour, and I used a couple tablespoons of ice water. It remained very tender. Such a nutty tasting foil to the bright and sweet curd.A simple winner. Make it!

Burnt crust again. Next time use foil not parchment to line the pan with pie weights and seal closely

I found the dough a bit dry as well and not rollable. It could have been my ancient food processor and the fact that I had to double the recipe for a larger tart.Ended up adding a bit more egg yolk to get to the "curd and clump stage" and pressing the crumbly moisture into the tart pan, which worked out fine. And no rolling! ~_~

Sickly sweet and I used only 200g (instead of 300g) of sugar. Will try 100 g next time. I prefer the crust without the sugar. If you role out the dough just a little you can just press it into the dish and not worry about adding liquid.

When do you take the tart out of the tart pan?

Was excellent, but it took almost 1 hour to cook, as my 'batter' was quite wet, and I also used a store-bought graham cracker crust that I had handy - worked out just fine and will serve to my guests.Now, could this be done with an Orange, using less sugar?? The lemon was excellent, but that is a lot of sugar...??

This was awful. Including the pith made it extremely bitter and, frankly, inedible. The lemon flavor was dulled by too much sugar. There are many great lemon tart recipes out there. This is not one of them.

I had the same problem with the dough at first. I put it back in the food processor and let it go a little longer. That did the trick. The texture visibly changed and it held together well without adding any water. The tart was delicious! I did add the juice of an extra lemon just because I love things to be tart. Yum!

Wow this is fantastic- made it using a nought gluten-free crust

I'm having a tough time understanding this. Have made Ina's extraordinary lemon pound cake for years, and discovered even a tiny bit of pith missed in otherwise careful removal of skin seriously interferes with cake's exquisite flavor. How is it possible the pith doesn't ruin the tart? Love the idea - the pound cake I make requires zest from 6 large lemons, no easy task. If it works, I'd def try it.