Blueberry Tart With Lemon Curd

This blueberry and lemon curd tart is perhaps my favorite summertime dessert. Flaky pastry is topped with creamy, sweet tart lemon curd and shimmering glazed blueberries. While blueberries are at their peak, I love serving this easy to make but especially pretty dessert when I’m entertaining friends.

During my years living in New England, I used to pick tiny blueberries from bushes that grew wild around the edge of our apple orchard and it became a tradition to make a blueberry and lemon curd tart at least once each summer. Now that I’m living in Florida, if I want to make this tart I buy blueberries from our local market. Of course, they are not the same as those tiny wild berries but they are sweet and delicious nonetheless. This pretty tart is a wonderful combination of creamy, sweet and slightly tart lemon curd that is topped with glazed fresh blueberries. I originally found the recipe in my cookbook, “The Pie and Pastry Bible” by Rose Levy, but I’ve made it so often that I can make it from memory. It is easy to prepare but if you don’t have lots of time, you can make the tart using a store bought pie crust and your favorite jarred lemon curd. It will be a little different from one you make from scratch but either way, you will love it.

Blueberry Tart With Lemon Curd

Preheat the oven 425 degrees

• Your favorite homemade pastry crust to fit a 9 – 10 inch tart pan or a store bought refrigerated single pie crust
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 c., more or less, lemon curd (recipe below) or 1 jar of your favorite store bought curd
• 1 pint of fresh blueberries, washed and any stems removed
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the pie crust in a tart pan (I use a 9 inch) with a removable bottom. Turn under any overlap and press to the inside of the pan. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully lift the parchment and pie weights out and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. Return to the oven and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the crust is pale golden brown.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. While warm, brush with beaten egg white and let cool. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Spread lemon curd evenly over the bottom of the crust and bake an additional 7-10 minutes but do not let the curd begin to color. When done, it should barely jiggle when the pan is moved gently from side to side. Place the tart on a wire rack and cool.

Blue Berry Topping

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch, stir well to break up any lumps. Add the lemon juice and water. Heat, stirring constantly until clear and thickened. Remove from the heat, add the blueberries, stir until they turn bright blue and are well to coated. Pour into a colander or sieve placed over a bowl to drain, reserving the glaze. Spoon the berries evenly over the cooled tart. Touch up any berries that are not coated with reserved glaze. Let rest until the tart is completely cool and the berries have set firmly. Remove tart pan sides, slice and serve at room temperature.

Lemon Curd

• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 7 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 – 3 lemons)
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• pinch of salt

Add the yolks and sugar to a sauce pan and whisk until blended then stir in the lemon juice, butter and salt. Cook the mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly, scraping down the sides of the pan often. When steam appears, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to keep the mixture from boiling. Cook until thickened and reached 196 degrees on a thermometer. Pour the curd into a strainer over a bowl to remove any little bits for a perfectly smooth filling. Stir the zest into the curd and cool.

To help prevent the tart crust from shrinking as it bakes, you can freeze the tart shell 30 minutes before baking.

Pie weights are suggested to keep the pie crust from puffing. If you don’t have any, you can use dried beans.

When making the curd, do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle.

The blueberries are not cooked but instead stirred briefly into a hot glaze and turn bright blue. This insures an intense blueberry flavor.

Any leftover tart may be refrigerated loosely covered for up to 2 days. The crust will soften the longer it sits.

Notes From The Kitchen

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Blueberry And Lemon Curd Tart

The delicious flavor combination of creamy sweet and tart lemon curd and glazed fresh plump blueberries on a flaky, buttery crust is like a slice of summer on a plate. This is one of the first recipes I shared on my blog and ten years later it is still one of my favorite desserts. I do hope you will give the blueberry and lemon curd tart a try.