Tana Ramsay's lemon tart with blueberries recipe

Tana Ramsay’s lemon tart with blueberries will become an instant family favourite. 

If you like a classic lemon tart, you’ll love Tana Ramsay’s twist which uses blueberries for an additional fruity hit. If you’re making the recipe when blueberries are not in season, you could use frozen blueberries that have been defrosted and drained. The nutrition for this recipe is calculated on the assumption you use all the pastry. You should only need around 350g pastry therefore the calorie count is likely lower than 540 calories a slice. 

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 250g (9oz) plain flour, plus extra if necessary and for dusting
• 50g (13/4oz) icing sugar
• 125g (41/2oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
• 2 large free-range eggs
• Dash of milk

For the filling:

• Finely chopped zest and juice of 3 unwaxed lemons
• 60g (21/4oz) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
• 75g (23/4oz) caster sugar
• 3 large free-range eggs, beaten

For the topping:

• 150g (51/2oz) fresh blueberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Method

1. Lightly grease a 24cm (91/2in) loose-bottomed, non-stick fluted tart tin and line the base with parchment paper.
2. To make the pastry, sift the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the butter cubes. Using your fingertips, rub the butter in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. At this stage, either continue with your hands or transfer to a food mixer with a dough hook. Beat together one of the eggs with the milk, add this to the flour mixture and mix until it just comes together into a crumbly ball of dough. Do not overwork it; it should look a little dry. Add a little more flour if needed. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes or overnight.
3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until about 5mm (1/4in) thick. Use it to line the tart tin, making sure that you gently press the pastry into the corner and fluted edge. Chill for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). To make the filling, put the lemon zest and juice, butter, sugar and beaten eggs in a medium non-stick saucepan and place over a low heat - it is very important that you don’t let the mixture overheat. Heat until the sauce starts to thicken like custard, whisking constantly and without allowing it to bubble. This should take 3-5 minutes. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, plunge the base of the pan into a sink of iced water to instantly cool it, whisk it for a little longer and then cover with cling film, making sure it touches the surface of the curd to prevent a skin forming.
5. Line the pastry case with a scrunched piece of parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Blind bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
6. Remove the tart case from the oven and lift out the paper and beans. Lightly beat the remaining egg and use it to lightly brush the inside of the tart case all over, then return to the oven for a further 5 mins, to seal the pastry and stop the base from becoming soggy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
7. Spoon the lemon curd filling into the cooled tart case, spreading it evenly over the base. Arrange the blueberries over the filling and dust with the icing sugar to serve.

Top tips for making lemon tart with blueberries

You should only need around 350g pastry to line your case. Leftovers can be frozen for another recipe. Scrunching the parchment paper before you blind bake helps it fit neatly inside the tart tin. If you’re worried the curd is lumpy, strain it through a fine sieve before spooning it into the pastry case.

For more tips on how you can prep the tart ahead and help rolling the pastry, read our tips below.

In step five of this recipe you will blind bake the pastry. You can use dried rice, pulses and grains but most cooks will use ceramic baking beans. We like this set from Tala. 

Tala Ceramic Baking Beans - Reusable Heat Resistant Blind Weights - View at Amazon

This set of ceramic baking beans is enough to cover a 32cm tart tin which is bigger than you need for this lemon tart with blueberries recipe. The beans can be lightly rinsed in warm water. We like to do this in a sieve. Leave to air dry and then store in the container until your next baking adventure. 

If you don't have time to make this recipe but want to replicate the flavours, simply add some blueberries to our easy lemon tart. For more easy dessert inspiration you should try our lemon posset. Alternatively our lemon meringue pie is a real showstopper. For a little afternoon treat, we recommend baking a lemon drizzle cake.