Easy Crustless Lemon Tart - Recipe Winners (2024)

FAQs

Why does my lemon tart filling crack? ›

Why does my lemon tart crack? The most common reasons why your tart has cracked is because the oven was too hot or the tart baked too long and overbaked. We recommend pulling your lemon tart from the oven when it's still a little jiggly in the middle when the pan is gently shaken.

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.

Since the lemon filling batter is very thin and has a lot of eggs, bubbles do form easily during beating. After you pour the batter over the par-baked crust, give the pan a few light taps on the counter.

Why did my lemon tart curdle? If the lemon juice comes into direct contact with the eggs then the eggs will curdle. Be sure to whisk the eggs with the sugar first to minimize this effect. Another reason could be that the lemon curd was cooked on too high a heat, which can scramble the eggs.

Doughs are docked to keep them from blowing up with steam while they bake. Thus- you only do it in applications that you don't want blown up- like blind pie crusts. Puff pastry applications, for example, you usually do want to blow up so you will get a lot of light layers.

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.

Tip 9: Let the tart cool in the tin, and it eat it on the day it's made. Let the tart cool in the tin before removing it, or it will crack. The tart is best eaten on the day it's made and shouldn't be refrigerated, so bake it early in the day and allow time for it to rest before serving.

Cornstarch has thickening power similar to Instant ClearJel. Like flour, it lends a cloudy, semi-transparent look to filling. It can also give filling a starchy taste. For full effectiveness, make sure the pie filling is bubbling up through the crust before removing your pie from the oven.

If the filling is runny and flowing out of the tart when you cut into it, then it is likely that the curd was not cooked for quite long enough. You need to be patient when cooking citrus curds as if you heat the mixture too quickly then it can curdle and become lumpy. You need to keep a low heat and stir constatntly.

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.

Does boiling lemon juice make it bitter? ›

No, the juice doesn't get bitter when cooked, nor will the zest (yellow outside skin), but the white part of the rind will.

If you're pre-baking your pie or tart crust, it's crucial that you dock your pie crust to prevent your pie crust from bubbling. Docking essentially means using a fork to poke holes all over the dough, making sure to get the sides/walls of the pie dough, too.

Another fix for a curdled mix is to add a tablespoon of flour, stirring in until the batter emulsifies again.

This can happen for several reasons: If your eggs are just slightly too cold, they may cause the soft butter to seize up, breaking the emulsion. Or if you rush while beating in the eggs, the emulsion won't be stable enough to hold in place.

Another tip, if the sugar and butter mixture appears slightly curdled, the butter was likely too warm or was beaten for too long. If that happens, don't worry. You can refrigerate the mixture for 5-10 minutes without risking the integrity of your recipe. After it regains some firmness, beat the mixture until creamy.

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.

Zestful Kitchen tells us "the most common reason why your tart cracked is because the oven was too hot." It's easy to be tempted by the lure of the myth that jacking up the oven temp will lead to a faster bake. But recipes have been painstakingly developed to help you achieve the best possible result.

When you pull your pie shell from the oven and notice a crack, prepare a paste by mixing flour and water. Gently push the broken crust pieces together and use a spatula, the back of a spoon, or your fingertip to apply the paste to the crack.