Sweet treats

Ultimate lemon tart recipe with a burnt sugar topping

8
Print Recipe

Looking for the ultimate lemon tart recipe? Look no further than this delicious pudding here. Complete with a burnt sugar topping and lemon thyme crème fraîche, it’s an irresistibly light dessert.

We love to serve puddings with a dollop of crème fraîche. It’s an easy and delicious wellbeing win. This classic ingredient is made from cream that’s been soured using bacteria. It’s naturally thick and adds a generous dollop of beneficial gut bacteria. Learn how to make your own crème fraîche at home, along with many other fermented foods, with Liz’s Good Gut Box.

We’ve added a twist to crème fraîche here by flavouring it with lemon thyme. This aromatic herb produces a gorgeous citrus scent and is the perfect addition to your kitchen herb garden. It perfectly complements the lemon flavours of the tart to provide a fresh and uplifting flavour.
Serve our lemon tart recipe as a tasty finish to a three-course meal, or bring along to a summer’s picnic – friends and family will love it!

Discover more delicious pudding recipes from Liz Earle Wellbeing

Ingredients

    For the pastry

    • 150g plain flour
    • 70g rye flour
    • 100g cold butter, cubed
    • 20g icing sugar
    • 1 organic egg yolk
    • 1 tbsp cold water
    • 1 beaten egg for glazing

    For the filling

    • 5 organic eggs
    • Zest and juice of 4 lemons
    • 150ml double cream
    • 200g caster sugar
    • 2 tbsp brown sugar

    To serve

    • 2 tbsp lemon thyme leaves
    • 150g crème fraîche
    • Zest of a lemon

    Method

    1. Make the pastry by briefly pulsing the flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor. Add the egg yolk and water, then pulse again until the mixture starts to stick together. Knead the pastry a couple of times on the kitchen counter to bring it together, flatten it down to make it easier to roll, then wrap in clingfilm or paper and put in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to chill.
    2. Grease a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin, roll out the pastry to fit and gently lay it in the tin, pressing it into the edges. Chill for another 30 minutes.
    3. Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Fill the pastry with foil or a sheet of baking paper and baking beans, then bake for 15 minutes, remove the beans and foil, trim the edges, then brush with beaten egg and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until lightly coloured and dry. Set aside to cool.
    4. Whisk the eggs, then add the lemon juice and zest, double cream and caster sugar. Mix together until well combined, then half fill the pastry case. Put it on the oven shelf and pour in the filling until full.
    5. Bake for about 35 minutes until there is a slight wobble. Leave to cool.
    6. While cooling, chop the lemon thyme leaves and stir them into the crème fraîche with the zest. Chill.
    7. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the tart and, with a blowtorch or under a very hot grill, caramelise the sugar. Alternatively, just dust with icing sugar. Remove from the tin and serve with the crème fraîche.