Easy Crustless Lemon Tart - Recipe Winners (2024)

FAQs

Why does my lemon tart filling crack? ›

This can happen for 3 reasons. Overbaked – The pie was overbaked. Bake only until the center of the filling has a very slight wobble. Cooled too quickly – allow to cool in the oven for 1 hour with the door slightly ajar.

A custard with both eggs and starch needs to be thoroughly cooked. The reason is that yolks contain an enzyme which liquidifies starch. It doesn't happen outright, but will happen while your tart is cooling. The only way to prevent it is to heat the mix high enough so the enzyme is deactivated.

Why is my lemon tart runny? If your lemon tart is runny, the mostly likely cause is not cooking the filling long enough. It should be nicely thickened when you pull it off the stove.

Burr explains that custard, especially ones that are heavy on fruit, have a tendency to split as a result of the moisture content and too-high oven temperatures. This is the chief issue you'll encounter when baking a lemon tart.

Take from the oven and whilst still hot carefully run around the edges of the tin with a serrated knife to trim the pastry overhang. Cutting whilst still warm will prevent the pastry from breaking. This next step is optional but I often do this when making a lemon tart, quiche or custard tart.

While pie is still hot fill with a paste made from 1 part butter 2 parts flour. Gently and carefully fill crack and smooth bake for 5-10 min until dry at 375F.

Half-fill the tart case with lemon mixture, then place tart on an oven shelf, ensuring it's level. Fill to the rim with remaining filling (you may have a little left over). Bake until the tart is set but with a little wobble in the centre (about 30 minutes).

2 1/2 Lemons = 1/2 Cup Lemon Juice. 4 Lemons = 3/4 Cup Lemon Juice. 5 1/4 Lemons = 1 Cup Lemon Juice.

Although lemon curd uses egg yolks and/or egg whites, the final product shouldn't taste eggy. If it does, it may mean that you've overcooked your eggs. In saying that, traditional lemon curd does have a distinct after taste which doesn't sit well with some.

How do you keep lemon pie filling from being runny? ›

Beat a mixture of thickened cornstarch and water into the egg whites to bind and stabilize the liquid in the meringue (and keep it from seeping out). Cook the filling for the full 2 minutes on the stove top so the cornstarch thickens completely and doesn't start breaking down and "leaking" during chilling.

Once your pie or tart dough has baked most of the way through but is still quite pale, you'll remove the pie weights and give it another minute or two of baking to take on some color. You might see it start to bubble at this point, but that's okay — you can deflate those bubbles when you take it out of the oven.

The point is to try and not let any mix spill over the sides because you don't want it under the pastry. Once you've successfully got it in there, you can relax and let it bake for 20-30 minutes. You will know the tart is done when you can gently nudge the tin and the mix wobbles like set jelly.

Avoid Over-cooking The Curd

Your lemon curd could get chunky and grainy if you let it overcook. One thing you should remember while making lemon curd is that you should never let it reach a point where it starts boiling.

Those cracks you see in your pie are the result of overcooked eggs, eggs that have tightened up so much, in an uneven way, that they've created fissures in the filling.

If it's had longer than 30 minutes in the fridge, take it out and leave it in its bag for about 20 minutes. When you unwrap the dough give it a little press with your fingers. If you think it's likely to crack give the dough a gentle knead to make the surface a little more pliable.

The batter contains too much raising agent. Too much baking powder will cause a cake to rise too quickly and too much, making it crack or spill over the sides of the tin. Reducing the amount of raising agent or using a combination of plain and self-raising flours will help produce a more even surface.

Allow the milk tart to cool at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge straight away, you will probably end up with a huge crack down the centre as a result of cooling too quickly. Be sure to use the best quality ingredients.