Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart

By dymnyno • October 29, 2009 • 144 Comments

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Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart — 1 of 5 Photo by James Ransom

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Author Notes: Versions of this simple quick dessert have circulated around the valley for years. It's a great dessert to make at the last minute. I have quite a few lemon trees , mostly Eureka (big thick skinned), but only a few sweet Meyer lemons which make the best tarte But, it only takes one large lemon! Unfortunately for me, lemons don't pair very well with red wine. - dymnyno - dymnyno

Food52 Review: People who taste this smooth, fragrant tart won't believe that it contains a whole lemon, rind and all! Nor will they understand how you got it to be so fragrant and light and not at all gummy like lemon curd tarts can sometimes be. In our view "Mary" wasn't lazy at all, she was brilliant. She has you whiz the filling together in a blender, then simply pour it into a blind-baked tart shell. Dymnyno gave the tart her own touch -- a Meyer lemon -- which lends it fragrance and finesse and none of the intrusive acidity found in regular lemons. One catch: you'll need to use your own tart dough. If you don't have a favorite, we recommend the Joy of Cooking's sweet pastry dough. We lined a 9-inch fluted tart pan with it, pricked it with a fork, filled it with pie weights and blind-baked it at 375 F for 15 minutes then removed the weights and baked it for another 10 minutes. Once the tart shell cooled we added the lemon filling and sent it back for one last turn in the oven. Start checking it at 35 minutes. - A&M - A&M

Serves 1 tart

1 large meyer lemon cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cup superfine suger
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
your favorite tart shell

Put all ingredients (except tart shell) into a blender and whirl like crazy!
Pour into tart shell.
Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees (watch that the top does not burn).

This recipe is a Wildcard Contest Winner!

Tags: Desserts, lemon, sweet, tart

Comments (144) Questions (12)

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4 days ago sofia j. jacobsen

Think this is what was called "the impossible pie" Made a big fan base with the working women!!

20 days ago Kasia

This tart is absolutely great! So easy to prepare and it's delicious! Thanks!

about 1 month ago adele93

i haven't read through all the comments, so i was just wondering how big of of a tin does this amount of filling fill?, also if using pre-rolled pastry, does it need to be blind baked first? - not sure as it takes 40 minutes in the oven anyway

20 days ago KLT

A 9-inch pie pan is pretty perfect. You could use a 10-inch and bake for a bit less time, or an 8-inch for a bit more. I would just keep your eye on it starting at the 30-minute mark. Also, I don't blind, or pre-bake the 'pre-rolled', or ready-made pastry.

about 1 month ago KLT

I have been careful with the oven temp and have even adjusted it down and added time but the top of my tarts is always a nice golden brown. No matter. I tell folks it's a Browned Butter Fresh Lemon Tart. Really delicious but you have to remove the bitter pith, which I commented on below.

about 1 month ago DianNoe

Easy, not bitter & pretty too. Great back pocket dessert.

2 months ago Ms. T

This is my new favorite recipe! So good, and so easy it feels like cheating. I used a 4 oz Meyer lemon (thanks to some of the other comments for guidance), and the Classic Tart Dough recipe from the Cook's Illustrated cookbook. And I garnished with fresh lavender from my garden and put a few drops of lavender extract in the whipped cream. Rave reviews all around the table. Thanks for sharing this gem of a recipe that will be in my arsenal for many years to come!

3 months ago janettefagan

looks very delicious but I dont see many Meyer lemons in Texas can I use other lemons?

3 months ago Kitchen Butterfly

I've tried it both ways - with Meyers and regular lemons. The Meyer lemon version is a dream - sweet, delicately fragranced and totally lemony. The regular lemon version ended up bitter but my husband and friend LOVED it.

3 months ago Rhonda35

I use regular lemons all the time and it comes out just fine. Meyer lemons are better, but I can't be too picky in this rural area. :-)

about 1 month ago KLT

The pith (white layer between the rind and fruit) is the culprit when it comes to being bitter. I have used all kinds of lemons and plan to try it with lime. The trick, regardless of the type of lemon is to remove the peel in sections and, laying the outside down, using a sharp knife, cut in a horizontal position until the white pith is gone from each section. The slice the rind, which is yellow on both sides now, into smaller pieces and toss into the blender. I also remove any seeds since they might add bitterness, too. The toss in the lemon fruit and the rest of the ingredients, blend like mad & go from there. This has been an instant favorite.

about 1 month ago KLT

Meant 'then slice the rind into smaller pieces.' This really doesn't add much time to the process and the payoff is fantastic.

3 months ago alamesa

I really want to make this for dessert for a dinner I'm organising but as with so many recipes, it requires a blender and I only have an electric hand blender and whisk. *sigh* Can't get a blender in time but saved for when I get one. Can't wait to try it!

3 months ago Rhonda35

Can you borrow one from a neighbor? You'll need it for about 5 minutes and then you can wash it and get it back before cocktail hour! ;-)

3 months ago alamesa

It did cross my mind. You talked me into it! We're on pretty friendly terms. :-)

3 months ago chop chop

Took this to a small party and it was well received. Easy to make!

3 months ago m tynan

We have two meyer lemon trees and tried this TWICE, using the entire lemon and the pie is bitter, bitter, bitter. The final solution was to peel the lemon and supreme the sections, adding them and some lemon zest to the blender. We took the easy way and just used a graham crumb crust which worked just fine.

3 months ago QueenOfGreen

Could the bitter be because of a lost seed? The first time I tried it, mine was just slightly bitter too. But I could tell it must have been a seed. The second time I made it I cut my lemons into smaller chunks to be sure I took out all the seeds, and it was perfect. Not sure if that's it in your case, but just a thought.

about 1 month ago dymnyno

Sorry that I didn't answer before...I've been gone for a month. I used to assume that all Meyer lemons were very thin skinned and using the whole lemon, skin, pith and seeds worked. This year for some reason of nature my own Meyers are very thick skinned so using the whole skin and pith would probably yield a bitter tart. Maybe you have/had the same problem. Usually the skin is very thin. I guess our colder than usual winter was the culprit!

4 months ago KLT

Made my second tart today. I don't like bitter tastes, so I peeled the lemons (easy if you cut off the ends, then slice just through the rind several times top to bottom. Then, just peel down the rind sections.) and removed the seeds. I cut the pith away and threw the rind into the blender along with everything else. I started with 1 cup of sugar and ended up adding another 1/4 cup. You really have to taste to make certain of the amount of lemon and sugar. I baked the tart at 325F because the 1st one at 350F was too brown. This on was also brown, but lighter in color and quite pretty, actually. My ancient oven probably runs hot. Anyway, this is a winner. I am inspired to try limes, oranges and a combination of citrus in this recipe. Love this one.

4 months ago sashimi

This dessert was so incredibly easy and flavorful. Great way to perk up any run of the mill weeknight dinner. The only issue was that a whole stick of butter makes it a little oily. The second time I made it, I used less butter, one cup of sugar and substituted 2 of the eggs with egg whites to make it a bit lighter. It was perfect and just as flavorful.

4 months ago Rita Whelan

I made this very easy desert last night to follow risotto. I served it with a few fresh raspberries. My company liked it very much. I will make it again.

4 months ago Rita Whelan

Thanks, I will let you know how it goes!!!

4 months ago kcallison

This is really good! I used regular lemons and squeezed the juice. I couldn't find superfine sugar so I just put it in the blender and superfined it myself! : )

4 months ago Rita Whelan

Can I use a pie shell or what is your best suggestion for the shell?

4 months ago kcallison

I suck at crust... I just bought pre-made pie shell.

4 months ago Rita Whelan

Do I bake the pie shell first?

4 months ago kcallison

Yes... about 8 minutes is how long I baked mine.

4 months ago Vitaj

I've been doing a low-carb almond-flour crust and I do not pre-bake it. I use this recipe: http://lowcarbdiets.about.... Press it into the pie plate by hand, pour in the filling and bake. It's a great tart! Hat's off to Lazy Mary!

5 months ago dymnyno

Thanks, Dr Babs!

5 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.

This recipe saved my life! I had a ton of meyer lemons and was making a tart from a recipe for lemon squares (in which you juice a ton of lemons, zest them, add eggs, etc.), and as I was about to put it in the oven, I spilled the entire filling on the kitchen floor. The thought of starting over filled me with dread, and then I thought, "Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart!" It was wonderful as usual--even the non-lemon lovers in my family really liked it. XO

6 months ago Cook from Lions Bay B.C.

I made this tonight baked in pie shells. It was a great flavour but not tart which is what we were expected. I am freezing the tarts and will use them as a base for mini trifles using lemon curd. The recipe is excellent.