Since the last time I mentioned Meyer lemons on this blog (and shared a recipe for a lemon poppyseed yogurt loaf), two more ripened on my little tree. See those two on the right that were still partly green?

They turned yellow, and I picked them. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, my tree started losing leaves and looking a bit sickly. I might have overwatered it, or else it just needs fertilizer or more sun. Hopefully I’ll nurse it back to health soon. But in the meantime, I can enjoy the two little lemons I harvested and made into this delicious Meyer lemon tart.

The star of the show here is really the Meyer lemon curd, which is perfectly lemony and tart. I almost wish I’d made more so I could eat it by the spoonful, honestly. For the curd I used David Lebovitz’s recipe, halved, and his French tart dough recipe for the shell. It was my first time making a tart dough, and while mine doesn’t look quite as photogenic as his, it tastes wonderful and was quite easy to make. So below is the recipe for the Meyer lemon curd, and here’s the full tart recipe. I’ll note that in that link he says that it makes enough to fill a 9-inch tart shell, but that’s double the amount of curd I used (and double the amount he suggests here). So while you could add more curd to your tart, you could also use the extra space for a dollop of whipped cream on top (or do both).

Meyer Lemon Curd

From here.

• 1/2 cup (125ml) freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
• grated zest of one of the lemons
• 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces, 85g) unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks

Zest one of the lemons into a medium sized bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over the top.

In a medium saucepan, warm the lemon juice, sugar, and butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted.

Whisk together the eggs and yolks in another medium bowl.

When the lemon juice mixture is warm, gradually pour it slowly into the eggs, whisking constantly. Scrape the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook the curd over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and starts to coat the spatula and the bottom and sides of the pan. (You may see little bits of cooked egg whites, which is normal.) It will happen relatively quickly – perhaps in less than 2-3 minutes, so watch carefully.

Immediately strain the curd into the zest, pressing the curd through the strainer to get most of it through. Wipe the spatula clean then use it to scrape the curd off the bottom of the strainer and into the bowl.

Stir the curd frequently to let the steam and heat out, then continue to let it cool for about 10 minutes. Pour the warm lemon curd into jars, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Storage: Lemon curd will keep for up to ten days in the refrigerator.