Shaker Lemon Tart Recipe (2024)

In Step 2, the dough should divided so that the larger disk is 1.5X the smaller. Gather all of the dough into a log shape. With a knife, score the top of the dough to mark off 5 equal portions. Cut the log into a 3-portion piece, and a 2-portion piece. Flatten into two disks, etc.

I have made this several times and it is a winner but I choose now to put the macerated lemons in the food processor and pulse them until the peel is well broken down, becoming part of the pulp and juice. Then I add the eggs and flour and finish the pie. I use the Foolproof Pie Dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated (vodka) which works fine. Everybody adores this recipe! The Shakers never wasted anything, no doubt why the peel is included? Good luck everyone!

No, peel and all. That's why it's important to slice thinly. Intense lemon flavor and rich pastry, decadent!

I made a half recipe of this in a 6" tart pan. I think the crust would have been better at 3/4 of what is listed rather than half. Aside from that, this makes a wonderful, lemony dessert. I was doubtful that the sugar would overtake the tartness of the lemon, but by time it macerated overnight, then baked with the other ingredients, it was wonderful. Definitely will make again.

Do you take Lemon peels out of the mix?

The recipe I've used for 40 years takes 2 lemons quartered and seeded and sliced thinly, 1 1/2c. sugar and 4 eggs. No flour (or squeezing). Perfect!I doubt that Shakers were so specific about Meyer lemons, but the thinness of slicing is importantOhio Lemon Pie, from The Shaker Cook Book: Not By Bread Alone, by Caroline B. Percy (1953), calls for 2 lemons sliced "paper thin", 2 cups sugar and 4 eggs. Mix filling "in a yellow bowl," presumably ceramic and non-reactive.

Tried this with regular lemons and it didn't work despite slicing the lemons really, really finely. The macerating and cooking didn't soften the thick skins enough to make them edible. The flavor was fantastic though and will make again with Meyer lemons.

My recommendations would be to use a deeper tart pan to avoid spills, place a pan underneath just in case and pre-mix the filling eggs and flour to ensure no lumps. The recipe instructions should be more specific to say the lower dough should be rolled higher than the sides of the tart pan and not just up the sides. I had the dough in the tart pan and was pouring filling before I realized I was in for a mess.

I made this last year with regular lemons and it didn't work: the rinds made it unpleasant to eat despite the fantastic taste. This year I made it with Meyer lemons and it was fantastic all around: incredible tasting and no unpleasant rinds. (I turned the oven down and cooked it longer than directed because of a self-made problem with my crust, but I assume the rinds would melt if I had baked it as directed.)

I tried this twice: the first time with regular lemons, was a massive failure, so went to the fancy store to find Meyer lemons. They didn’t have them, but they did have key limes, so I got a bag of those and shrugged. Less than enthused over the initial fail, I left the (mandolined) key limes and 2 cups of sugar on the counter, covered, for almost three days. Not wanting to waste them, I took a long bike ride and when I got back, I redid this recipe. HOLY COW. If you like key lime pie, try this!

Used a Meyer lemons, puréed the macerated lemons and sugar in the Vitamix. Added a splash of vodka to harvest the lovely lemon sugar residue from the vitamix. Drank the vodka, forgot to add the melted butter to the filling. The tart was good anyway but next time I’ll ditch the vodka and remember the butter.

Definitely yes. I've done so. Reheat it in a 350 degree oven (even a bit cooler) until crisp.

The lemon custard needs a fairly long cooking time; puff pastry cooks too quickly. Also, puff pastry is probably not a strong enough based to the tart since the weight of the custard would prevent it from rising. This tart needs a pate brisee type crust. Also, the crust in the recipe is extremely high in fat (butter) which softens the tartness of the lemon.

This came out quite well despite my limitations (could only find thick-skinned lemons, no Meyers or even thin-skinned ones; baking in our RV oven -- love "camping", hate the oven, as there's not enough headspace to brown the top of anything.) I gave it 24 hours to macerate, which I think helped, and the lemon pith was less of a problem. Even in that oven, Meyer lemons would have put it over the top. I gave slices to our campground neighbors who enjoyed them. I'm taking the win!

can I use puff pastry for this?

Used a Meyer lemons, puréed the macerated lemons and sugar in the Vitamix. Added a splash of vodka to harvest the lovely lemon sugar residue from the vitamix. Drank the vodka, forgot to add the melted butter to the filling. The tart was good anyway but next time I’ll ditch the vodka and remember the butter.

I made this tart 3 times in the past 2 weeks, slowly veganizing it. First (not related to veganizing) I doubled the filling and made 2 open-top tarts instead of 1 2-crust tart, because I'm all about the lemon. Then, used 1/2 ground flaxseed, 1/2 "egg replacer" instead of the eggs in the filling and that worked to firm up the filling without making it too much like a pile of wood shavings as it might appear using ground flaxseed alone. Now it's on my regular baking rotation!

I may try this with frozen, all-butter puff pastry. Will update if I do.

I tried this twice: the first time with regular lemons, was a massive failure, so went to the fancy store to find Meyer lemons. They didn’t have them, but they did have key limes, so I got a bag of those and shrugged. Less than enthused over the initial fail, I left the (mandolined) key limes and 2 cups of sugar on the counter, covered, for almost three days. Not wanting to waste them, I took a long bike ride and when I got back, I redid this recipe. HOLY COW. If you like key lime pie, try this!

Certainly doesn’t work with regular lemons - inedible.

Eh this was ok. I used Meyer lemons but still found the filling unpleasantly bitter, despite macerating for 18 hrs and slicing w/ a mandoline. Perhaps a matter of taste, because the recipe was otherwise spot on!

I made this for the first time yesterday, and it is wonderful! My only concern is that is required a lot of plastic wrap. If I want to avoid using plastic wrap the next time I make it, does anyone have a good suggestion as to the best way to do so? Rolling the dough as thin as is required for this recipe makes it somewhat difficult to transfer without the use of something on the top and bottom.

A lesson in reading the recipe through to the end multiple times before starting - I was caught off guard by the folding over of the excess dough from the bottom half. Other than that I think it all worked. I only used half the water called for before it looked ready per the recipe, but, it could have used a little more imo. I used a mandolin to slice the lemon and still had to really squeeze to get the rinds to break up. Maybe I didn’t have it tight enough.

Now a staple in my Company’s Coming impressive but easy dessert repertoire. Meyers are essential, so I stock up when they’re in stock at Trader Joe’s. I pulse the lemons with the sugar and freeze for later. For greater ease, I use the TJ pie crust too. Thaw lemons and pie crust, then finish the filling with eggs to assemble. I too prefer the chopped rind over thinly sliced which had an unpleasant stringy mouth feel. Serving tomorrow with a drizzle of melted rose petal jam.

Filling leaked out of tart, make sure bottom crust is airtight

I absolutely loved this recipe. It was relatively simple to put together (I made the dough the night before as well) and was a huge hit at my Easter quarantine brunch. So sad that there are no leftovers!

I loved the filling but found the pastry a bit hard - because I used a machine? Looked wonderfully flaky & light in pic so not sure what I did wrong???? anybody have any ideas, I’d love to hear from you...

Can I make this pie the night before? Trying to plan ahead for the holidays? Would I store it at room temperature or in fridge?