During my last year in high school, we were given two weeks off from classes for senior projects. While my peers pursued scuba diving, rock climbing, sailing, and photography, I headed to Ma Maison, the culinary pinnacle of Los Angeles, circa 1984. Being a girl in a French restaurant, I was led straight to the pastry kitchen. When I arrived, my fear of being in the way was quickly put to rest; the pastry chef had just been fired, and the sous-chef, Aisha, was running the show all alone. In no time at all, she had me making doughs, whipping mousses, and filling tart shells. Thrilled with my new-found pastry skills, I rushed home every day after work to re-create those desserts for my family.
One of the first things I learned to make that spring was a classic lemon tart with a pâte sucrée crust. The first time I tried it at home, my chocoholic sister begged me to add some chocolate. I refused and stuck to the classic French recipe. But one day, when her birthday rolled around, I gave in to her suggestion. I melted some bittersweet chocolate, spread it over the baked crust, and waited for it to solidify. Nervously, I poured the warm lemon curd over and waited to see if it would work. It was the first time I’d ever deviated from a pastry recipe, and I was terrified I might ruin it. To Jessica’s delight (and mine, too), it was even better than the original. To this day, whenever this tart is on the Lucques menu, Jessica gloats, proud of our lemon-chocolate collaboration.–Suzanne Goin
Note
This tart should be served cold, so make it at least a few hours before serving. When you make the lemon curd, you need to stir it the entire time. For an ultra-smooth curd, I use both a whisk and a rubber spatula, alternating between the two as I stir. Start with the whisk, and as the mixture begins to get frothy, switch to the spatula (which helps get rid of the froth), scraping the bottom and sides continuously. Remove the curd from the heat and let it cool slightly before pouring it over the hardened chocolate layer. Don’t cool the curd completely before pouring or it will lose its nice sheen. You can also make this tart with regular lemon juice.
Whisk the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl.
In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter on medium speed until you have a coarse meal. Gradually add the cream and yolks and mix until just combined. Do not overwork the dough.
Transfer the dough to a large work surface and bring it together with your hands to incorporate completely. Divide the dough in half, shape into 1-inch-thick discs, and wrap one of them to freeze and use later.
If the dough is too soft, put in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up a little. If the dough is manageable, place it on a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle a little flour over the dough, and roll it out into a 1/4-inch-thick circle, flouring as necessary. Starting at one side, roll and wrap the dough around the rolling pin to pick it up. Unroll the dough over a 10-inch tart pan. Gently fit the dough loosely into the pan, lifting the edges and pressing the dough into the corners with your fingers. To remove the excess dough, roll the rolling pin lightly over the top of the tart pan for a nice clean edge, or work your way around the edge pinching off any excess dough with your fingers. Chill for 1 hour.
Make the tart
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Take the tart pan with the pâte sucrée from the refrigerator. Prick the bottom with a fork and line it with a few opened and fanned-out coffee filters or a piece of parchment paper. Fill the lined tart shell with beans or pie weights and bake 15 minutes, until set. Take the tart out of the oven and carefully lift out the paper and beans. Return the tart to the oven and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is an even golden brown. Set aside on a rack to cool completely.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat. Spread the chocolate evenly on the crust and chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, until the chocolate has solidified completely.
While the crust is chilling, make the curd. Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, and lemon juice together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, alternating between a whisk and rubber spatula (see note above), until the lemon curd has thickened to the consistency of pastry cream and coats the back of the spatula.
Remove the lemon curd from the heat. Add the butter a little at a time, stirring to incorporate completely. Season with the salt. Let the curd cool about 8 minutes, and then strain it into the prepared tart shell. Chill the tart in the refrigerator.
Just before serving, whip the cream in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or by hand) until it holds soft peaks. Cut the tart into six wedges, plate them, and serve with dollops of whipped cream.
There is an error in paragraph 4. You should roll the pate sucrée dough to form a circle that is 1/4 inch in thickness, not 1 inch. The error does not appear in Suzanne’s book Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Given that we are making a tart crust, not a shortbread, the typo is obvious.
Gah, Richard. Thanks for the eagle eye. The error has been fixed. Glad you liked the tart.
Curious – how would this recipe work with grapefruit curd??
Lola, we haven’t tried that so can’t say for certain. I’m wondering if the grapefruit curd may be just a touch too tart to play nicely with the chocolate? The Meyer lemon brings a little more innate sweetness to the party. But if you give it a twirl, kindly let us know how it goes and if you like we can make that recommendation to others…
I wonder if making this ahead and freezing it would be ok?
Hi Mary, I would be inclined to freeze this in parts- the lemon curd and the unbaked dough. Any readers have an opinion on this?
Thank you David, From that chart it looks like there really isn’t that much difference between large and Xlarge (except the large are the ones that are on special savings in the stores) this looks delicious but sure does take a lot of eggs. My Meyer lemon is just starting to fruit now, so I will have to wait a bit before trying this recipe. I will also have to figure out what to do with all the 5 extra whites
Hi JuneC, it starts to make a difference when you use a lot of eggs, as you can see. I’m jealous: I would love a Meyer lemon tree.
I hope someone comes along that can tell me if I can use large eggs rather than extra-large eggs, or should I increase the number of eggs I use?
June, unless you’re making something like an omelette that doesn’t require specific volume amounts, you should always use the correct size eggs. I know that’s not always easy, so I’ve included an egg conversion chart. That way you can use your large eggs in recipes calling for extra-large eggs. Hope this helps.
I made this with our Meyer lemons and really like the addition of the chocolate as well as the nice gloss of the lemon filling. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You are so very welcome, Laura! I do love those Meyer Lemons…
I love them even more when they spend less than two hours from the tree to the pie plate! ;-)
We can understand that, Laura in Texas!
I’m a little nervous making the curd in a saucepan over a naked flame. Am I being paranoid, or should I try it in a double boiler?
Hi Zoe, the double boiler can be a bit more forgiving when making lemon curd but if you stir it constantly and watch your heat- it should be perfect. Let us know how it turns out.
In the name of science (not because I’m a big scaredy cat) I decided to use the double boiler method (a glass bowl over the top of simmering pot of water).
It took about 17 minutes of whisking over the heat before it thickened. Hopefully I left it long enough, I’m not 100% confident, but I didn’t want scrambled eggs!
Zoe, let’s us know how it turns out.
A little tip: If the eggs start to curdle a bit, immediately remove the pan from the pan and keep whisking. The mixture will start to cool a bit off the heat. When the curd is the proper thickness strain it through a fine sieve. It will get rid of every curd of evidence, and no one’s the wiser. (Not that I’ve ever had to do that….)
I was worried for nothing, the curd set perfectly in the fridge. A little hint of wobble, super smooth and glossy, a big punch of lemon—exactly what I was looking for!
Zoe, hurrah! It’s always a little angst-inducing when making a recipe for the first time, as you just don’t know what’s to come. So glad to hear this story had a happy ending….
The lemon curd sufficiently coated the spoon but the tart has now been in the refrigerator 2 hours. Does it require at least 8 hours to chill and firm up before slicing? Although I am an experienced cook, this is my first time attempt at making lemon curd. Thank you.
Hi Kimberly, did you cook the lemon curd until it was a nice thick consistency? It should firm up as it cools.
Thank you for your speedy reply. It was the consistency of pudding but maybe not thick enough…I’ll leave it overnight. If not, then I’ll try again another time because the taste is delicious. Experience is the best lesson.
Hi Kimberly, please let us know how it looks tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
looks like the best ever. i am making it for valentines day. My son is a lemon and chocolate fan.
ange
Wonderful! Please let us know how he likes the tart.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
There is an error in paragraph 4. You should roll the pate sucrée dough to form a circle that is 1/4 inch in thickness, not 1 inch. The error does not appear in Suzanne’s book Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Given that we are making a tart crust, not a shortbread, the typo is obvious.
Gah, Richard. Thanks for the eagle eye. The error has been fixed. Glad you liked the tart.
Curious – how would this recipe work with grapefruit curd??
Lola, we haven’t tried that so can’t say for certain. I’m wondering if the grapefruit curd may be just a touch too tart to play nicely with the chocolate? The Meyer lemon brings a little more innate sweetness to the party. But if you give it a twirl, kindly let us know how it goes and if you like we can make that recommendation to others…
I wonder if making this ahead and freezing it would be ok?
Hi Mary, I would be inclined to freeze this in parts- the lemon curd and the unbaked dough. Any readers have an opinion on this?
Thank you David, From that chart it looks like there really isn’t that much difference between large and Xlarge (except the large are the ones that are on special savings in the stores) this looks delicious but sure does take a lot of eggs. My Meyer lemon is just starting to fruit now, so I will have to wait a bit before trying this recipe. I will also have to figure out what to do with all the 5 extra whites
Hi JuneC, it starts to make a difference when you use a lot of eggs, as you can see. I’m jealous: I would love a Meyer lemon tree.
I hope someone comes along that can tell me if I can use large eggs rather than extra-large eggs, or should I increase the number of eggs I use?
June, unless you’re making something like an omelette that doesn’t require specific volume amounts, you should always use the correct size eggs. I know that’s not always easy, so I’ve included an egg conversion chart. That way you can use your large eggs in recipes calling for extra-large eggs. Hope this helps.
I made this with our Meyer lemons and really like the addition of the chocolate as well as the nice gloss of the lemon filling. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
You are so very welcome, Laura! I do love those Meyer Lemons…
I love them even more when they spend less than two hours from the tree to the pie plate! ;-)
We can understand that, Laura in Texas!
I’m a little nervous making the curd in a saucepan over a naked flame. Am I being paranoid, or should I try it in a double boiler?
Hi Zoe, the double boiler can be a bit more forgiving when making lemon curd but if you stir it constantly and watch your heat- it should be perfect. Let us know how it turns out.
In the name of science (not because I’m a big scaredy cat) I decided to use the double boiler method (a glass bowl over the top of simmering pot of water).
It took about 17 minutes of whisking over the heat before it thickened. Hopefully I left it long enough, I’m not 100% confident, but I didn’t want scrambled eggs!
Zoe, let’s us know how it turns out.
A little tip: If the eggs start to curdle a bit, immediately remove the pan from the pan and keep whisking. The mixture will start to cool a bit off the heat. When the curd is the proper thickness strain it through a fine sieve. It will get rid of every curd of evidence, and no one’s the wiser. (Not that I’ve ever had to do that….)
I was worried for nothing, the curd set perfectly in the fridge. A little hint of wobble, super smooth and glossy, a big punch of lemon—exactly what I was looking for!
Zoe, hurrah! It’s always a little angst-inducing when making a recipe for the first time, as you just don’t know what’s to come. So glad to hear this story had a happy ending….
The lemon curd sufficiently coated the spoon but the tart has now been in the refrigerator 2 hours. Does it require at least 8 hours to chill and firm up before slicing? Although I am an experienced cook, this is my first time attempt at making lemon curd. Thank you.
Hi Kimberly, did you cook the lemon curd until it was a nice thick consistency? It should firm up as it cools.
Thank you for your speedy reply. It was the consistency of pudding but maybe not thick enough…I’ll leave it overnight. If not, then I’ll try again another time because the taste is delicious. Experience is the best lesson.
Hi Kimberly, please let us know how it looks tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
looks like the best ever. i am making it for valentines day. My son is a lemon and chocolate fan.
ange
Wonderful! Please let us know how he likes the tart.