Lemon Poppy Seed Tart; deliciously sweet and sour lemon custard baked into crisp buttery pastry speckled with peppery poppy seeds.
The lemon and poppy seed muffin is a staple in just about every coffee shop in the land.
Combining the zingy freshness of lemon zest with the peppery warmth of poppy seeds is so deliciously genius that no one bats an eyelid at it nowadays. Yet, this is usually as far as we see this classic pairing go.
While the occasional lemon and poppy seed cake will appear in baked goods sections, that’s it. Rarely do you see these two ingredients frolic together as freely as they should across all other products on cafe or bakery counters.
Today we rectify this tragedy.
The Lemon Poppy Seed Tart. Unbelievably silky and sweet custard, rich with the fresh sourness of lemons. Short, crumbly pastry, laced with warming crunchy black poppy seeds.
This really is a dessert so well-matched you’ll probably start lobbying your local Starbucks to stop being so cowardly with their muffins. Or something like that.
Love lemon desserts? Try out this Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake!
Not to mention, this Lemon Poppy Seed Tart is actually deceptively simple. It has the elegant illusion of being a fancy French-style tarte au citron. In fact, this is a 5-ingredient shortcrust pastry with a cheat’s quick condensed milk custard. It will not require the faff of 8+ egg yolks and a 1-hour baking time. This tart is one for even beginner bakers.
This dessert is actually featured in one of my upcoming YouTube videos, in which I took on a challenge to eat nothing but yellow food for 24 hours. This followed on from earlier red and orange food equivalents, with red velvet cake and pumpkin spice muffins being respectively featured. Don’t worry, things won’t get really weird until we get to purple or grey food…
By way of equipment, a rolling pin and a good tart tin are the only things you really need to bake this Lemon Poppy Seed Tart. An electric whisk may save your biceps a workout in mixing the lemon filling, but is not a necessity. A food processor can be a big help in making the pastry but, again, is absolutely not essential.
I hope you get a chance to make and love this Lemon Poppy Seed Tart as we have. Stay safe, stay positive, and I hope to see you around here again soon!
Want to save this Lemon Poppy Seed Tart for later? Pin the image below!
To make this Lemon Poppy Seed Tart, simply follow the recipe below!
Lemon Poppy Seed Tart
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: this recipe would be just as delicious if you swapped the lemon zest and juice for orange instead!
This Lemon Poppy Seed Tart will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
Poppy Seed Pastry:
- 200g (1 ½ cups) plain flour
- 120g (8 tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into cubes
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2-3 tbsp cold water
Lemon Filling:
- 4 large egg yolks
- 400g (1 ½ cups) tin of sweetened condensed milk (such as Carnation)
- Zest and juice of 3 lemons
Instructions
Poppy Seed Pastry:
- If making by hand, rub the cubed butter into the flour, seeds and sugar with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. If using a food processor, blitz all the pastry ingredients (except the water) until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add the cold water until the pastry comes together into a smooth ball of dough. If too sticky, add more flour, if too dry, add more water.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it reaches the thickness of about a £1 coin.
- Lightly wrap the dough around the rolling pin, lift and unroll in your pie/tart dish. I used a 9 inch fluted tart tin.
- Use your fingers to gently press the dough into the dish.
- Roll the excess pastry off the edges, prick the pastry all over with a fork and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven – 190 C / 170 C fan / 375 F / gas mark 5.
- Use either a scrunched-up piece of greaseproof paper or some foil to line the chilled pastry, fill it with either some dry rice, dry pasta or ceramic baking beans and bake for 20 minutes. This is known as blind-baking and just gives the pastry a chance to crisp up slightly and keep structure before adding the filling!
- Remove the part-baked pastry shell from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Carefully remove the greaseproof paper and its filling and return the tin with the naked pastry to the oven for a further 20 minutes. By this time it should be starting to look crisp and golden.
- Remove the tin from the oven and allow the pastry to cool slightly while you make the filling.
Lemon Filling:
- Place your egg yolks in a large bowl (you can save the whites for omelettes or a meringue topping!) and whisk vigorously by hand or with an electric whisk for about a minute to lighten them.
- Add the tin of condensed milk and whisk for a further 2 minutes.
- Zest and juice the lemons into the bowl and whisk for another 2 minutes to ensure the filling is lovely and airy.
- Pour this mousse-like mixture into the part-baked pastry case.
- Place into the oven – at 160 C / 140 C fan / 325 F / gas mark 3 – to bake for a final 15 minutes.
- By this stage the custard filling should be set or just have the slightest wobble, so remove it from the oven and allow it to cool,
- Chill the cooled lemon poppy seed tart in the fridge for at least two hours before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
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