This lemon meringue tart is bright, bold, and sure to impress-no rolling pin required. A simple press-in almond flour crust (naturally gluten-free) keeps things easy, while the tangy lemon curd filling is rich and smooth. Billowy swirls of Italian meringue top it off for a stunning finish. It slices cleanly and gets rave reviews from the first bite. It takes a little effort, but it's absolutely worth it-and I'll walk you through it step by step.
This lemon meringue tart is a showstopper dessert-perfect for holidays, spring gatherings, or anytime you want something with serious wow factor. The lemon curd strikes a sweet-tart balance with a rich, smooth texture, and the whole tart is naturally gluten-free. Make it with regular sugar or powdered allulose to suit your needs.
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Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Bright lemon flavor, nicely balanced between sweet and tangy.
- Cookie style crust is easy to make.
- Top with an Italian meringue or skip and use whipped cream.
- Make the tart crust a day ahead to make things easier.
- It's more refined and elegant than a lemon meringue pie.
Here's a link to my sugar-free lemon curd if you just want lemon curd and not the full tart. And lemon curd is great served with gluten-free pound cake.
Lemon Meringue Tart Ingredients
Tart Crust
- Almond Flour - Naturally gluten-free almond flour gives the crust a tender, buttery texture.
- Coconut Flour - Adds structure and helps the crust hold together.
- Sugar - Light brown sugar adds a subtle caramel flavor.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter, salted butter can throw off the balance.
- Salt - Fine sea salt enhances the flavor of the crust.
Lemon Curd Filling
- Eggs - A dozen large yolks for the lemon curd.
- Butter - Unsalted butter only for better control over flavor.
- Lemons: Either regular lemons or Meyer lemons.
- Sweetener - Sugar, either caster sugar (superfine sugar), granulated sugar, or for sugar-free and lower-carb use powdered allulose.
- Gelatin - A small amount adds insurance for clean slices and the perfect texture. I use leaf gelatin 170 bloom power, but regular powdered gelatin works too.
- Citric Acid Powder - Use only with Meyer lemons, which are naturally lower in acidity. It helps the curd set properly.
For more about leaf gelatin and why I recommend it, read the note in this post on strawberry panna cotta.
Italian Meringue Topping
- Egg whites - Use egg whites from the lemon curd filling
- Sugar - Superfine sugar is the best for meringue but regular granulated sugar works.
- Water - For making the sugar syrup.
- Cream of tartar - Provides stability for the meringue.
- Sea salt - Just a pinch, that tiny bit balances the sweetness of the meringue.
Chef's tip: Why Italian meringue? It's the most stable of the three types of meringue: French meringue , Swiss meringue, and Italian meringue and holds up beautifully on a lemon meringue tart, plus it torches well, if you want to torch it.
If you love lemon, try this easy blender lemon chicken marinade. It's great for grilling chicken!
Substitutions and Variations
- If you run short on time, make it a lemon curd tart with lightly sweetened whipped cream on top and skip the meringue step.
Chef's tip: Almond flour vs. almond meal: Almond flour is made from blanched almonds (no skins) and is finely ground. It gives baked goods a smoother texture and is ideal for crusts, cakes, and pastries. Almond meal is often made from whole almonds (with skins) and is coarser in texture. It can make recipes more rustic or gritty and may affect how the crust holds together. Iuse the superfine
Recipe Instructions
For the step-by-step instructions with photos, click here to see details for how to make the tart crust. You need a 9" tart pan with removable bottom.
Tart Crust
- Combine all crust ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until it holds together.
- Pour crust ingredients into tart pan and distribute with fingers.
- Make a strong edge then flat bottom.
- Bake 15-17 minutes at 350°F until light golden brown. Cool to fill. Make a day ahead. Wrap and store on counter, fill next day.
Lemon Curd Filling
- Whisk the egg yolks until smooth, juice and strain the lemons.
- Bloom the gelatin in appropriate water 5-10 minutes (see recipe card details).
- Over medium low heat, melt the butter, add the lemon juice, add the sugar, whisk until smooth.
- Heat the butter mix until hot. Slowly pour it into the eggs whisking continually (called tempering), the pour it all back into the pan. Cook a few minutes, whisking, until you feel it thicken.
5. Pour the lemon curd through a fine sieve and immediately add the gelatin and stir until smooth while hot.
6. Cool lemon curd for 15-20 minutes, then pour into the tart shell and bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.
7. Remove baked tart from the oven. It will still be fairly fluid and jiggly. Cool at room temperature for about 1 hour. It should feel fairly cool to the touch before you transfer it to the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours for the cleanest slices. Tart will be fully set with no jiggle.
Italian Meringue
Tool tip - Use an inexpensive digital candy thermometer for making Italian meringue.
- Add sugar and water to a small pan and bring to a boil. Do not stir to reduce crystallization of sugar.
- Whip 3 egg whites until foamy, then add cream of tartar and whip to soft peaks.
- Cook sugar syrup to 246°F - 248°F for Italian meringue.
- Immediately remove pan from stove, slowly pour hot syrup into the meringue. Whip on high speed until it cools, 5-7 minutes.
Scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Fold the top down to create a collar to make it easier to fill. Pipe as you please onto the cooled tart. Ready to serve or refrigerate for a few hours. If desired torch before serving. It's good both ways.
Chef's tip for perfect meringue: For the best volume and stability, always start with a clean, dry bowl and beaters. Any trace of grease, oil, or egg yolk can prevent the whites from whipping properly. Use a metal or glass bowl (not plastic). Also, room temperature egg whites whip to better volume than cold ones (but it's easier to separate cold eggs).
Serving Suggestions
Serve this lemon meringue tart slightly chilled or at cool room temperature. It's perfect on its own, but if you want to dress it up, add a few fresh berries, or a sprig of mint.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. You can make just the crust or the crust with lemon curd filling a day ahead. Save making the meringue for the day you plan to serve.
The tart is best enjoyed within 1-2 days, as meringue softens over time. Store covered in the fridge and avoid humidity as it softens meringue quickly.
It's the most stable of the three types of meringue and holds its shape beautifully without needing to be baked-perfect for torching and slicing.
If you're short on time, yes-you can top the tart with lightly sweetened whipped cream instead of meringue.
More Dessert Recipes with Lemon
Love lemon? We sure do! If you're a lemon lover, try some of these lemon dessert recipes.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Meringue Tart
Equipment
- Silpat silicone liner optional
- Piping bag with star tip optional
- Butane torch head optional for torching meringue
- Butane fuel optional for torching meringue
- Candy thermometer or digital thermometer
- Kitchen scale optional but highly recommended
Ingredients
Almond flour tart crust (directions link below)
- 1 ½ cups superfine almond flour 6 ounces Bobs Red Mill
- ½ cup coconut flour 2 ounces Bobs Red Mill
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Lemon curd tart filling (yield 2 cups)
- 12 large egg yolks save 3 whites for meringue
- ¼ pound unsalted butter 8 tablespoons
- 1 cup strained fresh lemon juice 4 large lemons
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons superfine sugar or 1 ½ cups powdered allulose for sugar-free
- ½ teaspoon powdered citric acid if using Meyer lemons
- 2 ½ sheets leaf gelatin 170 bloom or regular gelatin powder, 1 packet
Italian meringue
- 3 large egg whites from the lemon curd, 90 grams of white.
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Make the tart crust (a day ahead if desired)
- Pre-heat oven to 350° (177 C). In a medium bowl, mix almond flour, coconut flour, sugar and melted butter with a fork until blended, then blend until completely combined with your fingers. To test, squeeze a handful together. It should hold together and feel moist. Dump all of the crust mix into the tart pan and begin to press in the crust starting with creating a strong edge and the bottom last. To see full tart directions and photos please follow the link at the bottom of the recipe.
Make the lemon curd filling
- Separate your eggs, using 12 yolks for the filling and saving 3 egg whites for the meringue.
- First bloom the gelatin. For powdered gelatin, add powder to 2 tablespoons of water, stir, and let bloom for 5-7 minutes in a small bowl. For leaf gelatin, cut the leaves in pieces and cover with cold water in a small bowl.
- Melt butter in a 3 quart pan over medium low heat. Add the lemon juice (and citric acid if needed) and sugar or sifted allulose and whisk until smooth. Whisk the yolks until smooth in a medium bowl. When the butter lemon blend is hot (small bubbles around the edges of the pan), slowly drizzle it into the egg yolks whisking continually until totally incorporated. This is called tempering, so the eggs don't scramble.
- Pour the entire mix back into the pan and cook over medium low heat, whisking continually, until you feel it thicken, 3-4 minutes. Pour the hot lemon curd through a fine sieve to catch any cooked egg bits and while hot, add the bloomed gelatin and mix until smooth. Cool the lemon filling 20-30 minutes before pouring into the tart shell before baking. This protects the crust and ensures a smooth, even set during baking.
Bake and cool
- Pre-heat the oven to 325°F (conventional). Place the tart shell on the baking sheet for stability, then pour lemon curd in and bake for 15 minutes at 325°F.
- Remove tart from oven and carefully place on a wire rack to cool when you can handle it. Filing will be fairly fluid and jiggly, not set (until it cools).
- Let tart cool at room temperature for about 1 hour. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or overnight for the cleanest slices.
Make meringue, pipe, and torch (optional)
- Whip meringues to soft peaks with a hand mixer on medium high speed, adding cream of tartar at the foamy point. Whip to soft peaks, so when you turn the beaters upside down the tip drops over.
- Make the sugar syrup. Add sugar and water to a small pan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar syrup reaches 246°F degrees for a stiff meringue, or 240°F - 242°F for a softer more marshmallow texture meringue.
- When sugar syrup is to the right temperature, immediately remove it from the heat and slowly pour in into the side of the bowl of meringue while whipping on high speed. Whip on high speed as the meringue cools. Continue whipping the meringue until glossy peaks form and to cool the meringue 5-7 minutes. Meringue is ready to use.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip to pipe a decorative top or spoon and swirl meringue on top of the tart and arrange as you please. The final step if desired is to carefully use a blow torch to brown the top. Use a low flame and move the torch across the meringue until you have enough browned meringue. Don't rush this step. When done torching, it's ready to serve.
- Slicing trick - Use a long thin slicing knife and wipe it off on paper towels or a kitchen towel between each slice for clean slices.
Notes
Nutrition
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Porsche guy says
My wife made this for friends coming for dinner and they flipped over it. It was so good. Even though i loved my grandmothers lemon meringue pie, this is even better. I could just eat the meringue. The texture is just right and it was even good the next day.