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Made with our easy microwave lemon curd, these buttery, crisp Ridiculously Easy Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts will steal the show and bring rave reviews!
If you haven't tried our Ridiculously Easy Microwave Lemon Curd you're missing out on something wonderful! Be sure to pick up a few lemons next time to shop and give it try. It comes together in right around 10 minutes with no double boiler or tedious stirring. THEN you'll be able to whip up a batch of these Ridiculously Easy Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts. I promise you'll be super impressed with yourself... and so will everyone who has the pleasure of tasting them!
Ridiculously Easy
You may have noticed, we're combining two super easy Café recipes (our lemon curd and our classic shortbread) to create this one very special Ridiculously Easy sweet treat. If you're not familiar with our Ridiculously Easy recipes (check them all out here), you can read more about why we have a whole category of recipes called Ridiculously Easy in this post - but to sum it up quickly, they are "The recipes that make you look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your part". Our Café readers love these recipes and so do I!
Make ahead!
I love that both the lemon curd and the shortbread tarts can be made in advance. Store the lemon curd in the fridge and the tartlets in an airtight container. Spoon or pipe the lemon curd into the tartlets before serving and VOILA! A super fancy-looking dessert or sweet treat that takes minimal effort. My kind of recipe... agreed?
How to make these Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts
In addition to the lemon curd mentioned above, we're using our one-bowl, no-mixer classic Café shortbread recipe which is used to form crisp, buttery and oh-so-delicious tart shells. How does that work?
Instead of rolling out and cutting the dough as in many of our shortbread recipes, you simply divide the dough into 24 little portions, roll them into balls, place the dough balls in a mini muffin pan and flatten each dough ball with your fingers. Then a half teaspoon measuring spoon (the perfect size) is used to make little "wells" in the shortbread dough balls. Check it out:
The wells are reinforced with the measuring spoon once again after baking. All that's left is to pipe (or spoon) the heavenly lemon curd into the tart shells and enjoy! Each one is a delicious little bite of sweet, tart, crisp, buttery nirvana!
See what I mean? Easy! Ridiculously Easy!
Garnish... or not
I love to add an edible flower to each of my Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts. We don't usually eat the flowers, but I like to garnish with something that isn't toxic and won't add a bitter or strange flavor to the curd. There are so many edible flowers that can add a beautiful touch to desserts, salads, appetizers, etc. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Pansies
- Johnny Jump Ups (look like mini pansies)
- Violets
- Daisies (all sizes)
- Trout Lillies (a friend who lives nearby has these growing all over her wooded backyard right now.)
- Roses
- Elderflowers
- Forget-Me-Nots
- Redbud tree flowers (we have a row growing all the way up our driveway. I can't wait for them to bloom!)
- Marigolds
- Nasturtium
- Honeysuckle
- Alliums (the flowers of chives, leeks and garlic, so pretty!)
- Campanula (the purple flowers you see in my pictures above and below)
A simple sprig of mint and a dusting of powdered sugar is also a beautiful garnish for these Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts. But you can also serve them without any garnish. The golden shortbread shells and the sunny lemon curd are pretty on their own!
These Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts are perfect for a spring brunch, a fancy tea, a light dessert, a wedding shower, to finish off an Easter celebration, when a neighbor drops in for a cup of coffee, as a special treat when the kids come home from school, a gift for a neighbor, friend or co-worker... I think you get the picture, they're a perfect sweet treat for special occasions, but they also make an ordinary day deliciously special!
Café Tips for making these Ridiculously Easy Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts
- When you make the Ridiculously Easy Lemon Curd to fill these tarts, you'll have more than you need but, you'll probably want to make these delicious little treats again so you'll be all prepared. Also it freezes well - according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, "Lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year without quality changes when thawed." They also say that it can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 weeks. How great is that?
- For some delicious and creative things to do with leftover lemon curd (besides making another batch of these Lemon Curd Shortbread Tarts, check out this post.
- Because this is a one-bowl, no-mixer recipe, the butter should be VERY soft. You don't want it melted, just nice and soft. Let the butter sit at room temperature for several hours or use a microwave at 10% power (for 1 to 4 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave) to soften your butter.
- You'll need one (24-cup) or two (12-cup) non-stick mini muffin pans for this recipe.
- Be sure to spray your mini muffin pan(s) with baking spray as a prep to ensure that the tarts don't stick to the pan. Baking spray is different than regular non-stick cooking spray in that it contains flour in addition to oil or some type of shortening. It works in the same way as the classic technique of greasing and flouring a pan before baking.
- You can use a small teaspoon to fill the shortbread tarts with lemon curd, but an easier way is to put the lemon curd in a ziplock bag or a disposable pastry bag (I love to keep a stock of these reasonably priced pastry bags on hand)
- One of the ingredients in the shortbread tarts is corn starch. Several years ago, I started subbing corn starch for a small portion of the flour in my shortbread as it gives a crisp, melt-in-your-mouth texture to the baked cookies.
- If you prefer to use an electric mixer for this recipe, feel free. Just don't overmix the dough.
- I'm hoping that one day (maybe when I grow up) I will be able to roll perfectly round dough balls in my hands. Mine always come up a little elongated, resembling a weird little spaceship. I just use my fingers to gently persuade them into a more acceptable ball.
Thought for the day:
But those who HOPE in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy any of these recipes, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
- 8 ounces very soft butter (2 sticks) I use salted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½-1 cup Ridiculously Easy Microwave Lemon Curd
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Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray two 12-cup mini muffin pans (or one 24-cup mini muffin pan) with baking spray. Rub each cup with a piece of paper toweling to make sure they’re thoroughly coated, including the top edges.
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Place the soft butter and powdered sugar in a medium-size bowl and stir until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the corn starch and stir until nice and smooth.
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Add the flour and salt and stir, turning the bowl with and stirring from the bottom up. At first the dough will be very shaggy and dry, but after a minute or so it will come together nicely. Just keep stirring until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together in a big clump.
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Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. You can eyeball this or use a digital scale. I weigh the dough then divide by 24. It usually comes out to 25-26g each. Give each portion of dough a little squeeze and hold it in your hand for about 10 seconds (to compress and warm the dough a bit) then roll it between your palms into round balls.
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Place each ball into one of the prepared mini muffin cups and flatten each one gently with your fingers. Using a ½ teaspoon measuring spoon (see the pictures above in the post), make an indention in the center of each flattened ball. (I like to do about 3 at a time: squeeze 3 portions, roll them into balls then make the wells. This keeps the dough from drying out and cracking when you make the little wells.) If the dough cracks at the edges, just push it together with your fingers while the spoon is still in the center.
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Place the pan(s) in the preheated oven and bake for 18-24 minutes or until the outer edges of each tart are a medium golden brown. (Don't worry the pretty "well" that you made before baking will have puffed up a bit.)
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Remove the pan(s) from the oven and immediately reinforce the center wells by gently pushing in again with the ½ teaspoon measuring spoon. You can make the wells as shallow or deep as you’d like at this point.
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Allow the tart shells to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove by inserting a small sharp knife into the center of each shell and pulling upward. Cool completely on a cooling rack before filling.
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Using a spoon fill each well with 1-1 ½ teaspoons of lemon curd. You can also put the lemon curd in a medium-size zip lock back or a disposable pastry bag, snip of a tiny piece at the corner of the ziplock bag or tip of the pastry bag and pipe in the filling. Garnish with a mint sprig or a small edible flower, if desired. If desired, use a fine mesh small sieve to give each tart a shower of powdered sugar.
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.
Linda Loo says
I made both the lemon curd and the shortbread tarts today for the first time. Both came out absolutely perfect! I will fill tarts with lemon curd on Monday shortly before I serve them. I appreciate the level of detail you include with all your recipes - I make a point to read through the entire post at least once so I remember to use all the tips you’ve included to ensure a perfect outcome. Thanks so much!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Wonderful! Thank you for letting us know, Linda Loo!
Ann says
Loved theses tarts so much, as did everyone I served them to. And so easy! And since I didn’t have edible flowers I topped each with a blueberry. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Ann!
Anita says
This recipe was amazing. I was looking for something to do with a jar of lemon curd and came across this. Next time I'll make the homemade curd. I used a bit of the leftover dough to make a few cookings. I had no idea how easy shortbread was to make. Both the tarts and the cookies were a big hit. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Anita! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Christine says
Hello is Powdered sugar just icing sugar in Australia?
Chris Scheuer says
Yes!
Les says
Love your recipes and this one is no exception! Please send me the labels.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Les! I do not have labels for this recipe at this time.
JANET MUXWORTHY says
These were a big hit! Took a platter of these to my mum's memorial service tea and there wasn't one left!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Janet!
Helene says
To do list !
Well now that I found this other option with lemon curd … I must do some for hubby in me !
We love lemon and we’ve tried the so easy recipe for you and we just loved eat so much that I had to do some more !
What a nice way to make some more lol
Please send me the label for this none !
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Helene! Sending the labels your way 🙂
Dawn Bagnetto says
Oh, my! These lemon curd tarts are absolutely scrumptious! I made the lemon curd one day & the tarts the next. Almost didn't have enough lemon curd for the tarts because I couldn't stop "taste testing" (LOL - chef''s treat!) Since there are only 2 of us, I froze half the lemon curd & half the tarts - now I have an instant dessert when I need it.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes - especially the Ridiculously Easy ones!
Dawn B
Chris Scheuer says
So glad you enjoyed these, Dawn! Thanks for taking the time to let us know 🙂
Liz J says
Hello,
I want to make these this weekend as I bought the pan; however I wanted to know if I put a knife in to remove them won’t the curd leak out? I enjoy the Bible quotes.
Best regards,
Liz J
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Liz, awesome! Hope you enjoy them.
Regarding your question, no the curd won't leak out. You're just using the tip of the knife to remove the tarts from the pan.
Jeanne Harned says
Another winner! I'm a long time fan of yours, knowing that every recipe will be a hit. I'm guilty of making the recipes but then moving on to try another without stopping to review. I've been making the lemon curd ever since you posted it, also using it in your mousse recipe. I made the tarts today and they turned out beautifully. I used a scant #40 scoop for the tarts as this seemed faster than weighing each one. Your recipes are great, your testimony is inspiring and I love the music recommendations. Blessings to you!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you for the kind comment, Jeanne! I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying the recipes 🙂
Laurie Peccini says
Thank you so much for these incredible recipes! I made your lemon tart, and my husband and I enjoyed it so much….the curd came out perfectly, and it was all just a joy to make. I even had a good amount of curd left over, so just made your shortbread cups for another week’s worth of lovely desserts. Would it be possible to send me your PDF label also? Thanks again, Laurie
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Laurie! So happy you've enjoyed our recipes! Just sent the labels.
Peggy says
I just finished making the lemon curd and the lemon tarts. I should have baked the tarts a bit longer, but they turned out anyway. And , oh my, the lemon curd is out of this world. I ended up using it to fill my thumbprint cookies. Love your recipes and your clever hints that are added. Happy Easter to you and yours.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Peggy! Happy Easter!
Ilana says
This looks wonderful. If I use unsalted butter, how much salt should I add to compensate?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Ilana,you can add 1/4 tsp for every stick of butter so for this recipe you would need 1/2 tsp. Enjoy!
Lois Johnson says
I'm new to this site and happy to have found it. These are SO pretty and fresh looking! I will be making them for Easter morning coffee hour at church. I can't wait! I love the idea of adding edible flowers or mint as a colorful accent- so elegant! I hope to make the lemon curd for gifts and would be pleased to have your PDF for labels. Where did you find the sweet jars you put yours in? Thank you so much for sharing!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Lois! We are happy to send the labels your way! And the jars are Weck- https://weckjars.com/shop/ you can find them on Amazon or World Market or order directly from their website.
Linda says
I love the comment about sampling the lemon curd frequently to test the temperature! I'd be doing the same!
Do these tarts need to be refridgerated? And how far in advance could they be made? Would a day or so be ok?
Shortbread and lemon...win/win!! 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Once you add the lemon curd, they would need to be refrigerated. But it's really best to keep the tart shells and curd separate and fill them not too long before serving. The tarts shells themselves do not need to be refrigerated.
Karen says
Just wondering if a standard cupcake pan could be used for the shortbread lemon tarts. I would like to make these for a group of guys so larger would be more appropriate if they would "turn out" with same texture, etc.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, I think that should work. They will take a little longer to bake. If they look golden and you take them out and they're not crisp, turn off the oven and put them back in for 10-15 minutes as the oven is cooling.
Rosie Patriarca says
Can these made gluten free. Please, I would also like a pdf of your label. Can't wait to make these.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Rosie, I would think you could sub GF cup to cup flour for this, but I have not tried it so I can't say for sure. Maybe other readers can chime in if they have tried it. We will send the labels your way!
Marian says
My husband loves anything made with lemon. I made these delicious lemon curd shortbread tarts a couple days ago and my family loved them.
I found that instead of using the tip of a knife to remove the tart shells out of the muffin pan, I just gently tapped the muffin pan a few times on the counter after ten minutes, the tart shells came out easily.
Thanks for the recipe.
I would like to receive the beautiful labels please.
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you for letting us know, Marian! We will send the labels 🙂
Inge Kohl says
I just baked the shells for the Ridiculously Easy Caramel Shortbread bites. Since I accidentally didn't buy the bigger bag of caramels, I only had enough to make half a batch of filling. So I decided to make some with the lemon curd. When I looked at the recipe, I noticed that the baking instructions were slightly different, even though the ingredients and preparation were identical. Did you have better results with baking them, taking them out to reinforce the wells and then baking them more ? The oven temp was slightly higher for the lemon curd filled recipe as well. It was 350, instead of 325.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Inge, you are very observant! I'm always trying to improve my recipes. I did find that baking a little longer at a little lower temperature yielded a nice golden tart shell and there wasn't as much of a chance of them burning. Also, I found that removing the pan at 10 minutes and reinforcing the well that extra time yields a prettier finished product. Both ways work, but as I said, I'm always trying to improve!
Inge Kohl says
That was a quick response. I just finished making the lemon curd. It is so delicious and easy to make. I didn't see it mentioned if I need to cool it completely before filling the tarts. It's good it makes a lot, because I will be testing it's temperature frequently.
Thanks
Inge
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Yes, the lemon curd should be cooled before filling the tarts.
Ann Marie says
I love the lemon curd and shortbread combination!
They were delicious!
I would love the pdf for the labels!
Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Ann Marie! Sending the labels your way!
Shaherose Lalji says
This recipe looks really good and I would love to try it out. Except that I am not fond of lemon curd. What can I replace the lemon curd with?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Shaherose, I am experimenting right now with other fillings. Stay tuned!
Cherry says
Would love to make the lemon curd tarts once been shopping. Would also love the pdf for the labels. New to this site but cannot wait to get cooking. Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Sure, Cherry! Enjoy!
Mary says
Yum. Can't wait to try this. Great site.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Mary!
Karen says
Hi Chris, those tips to make pastry shells in mini muffins are pure gold! Will be trying it out very soon! Thanks for all your content and hard work!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Karen! Let us know how it goes 🙂
Sheila Cholyk says
You’re always giving me such great tips, I thought I’d share one with you. Whenever I make little tarts I always put a thin ribbon sized piece of parchment down the sides, across the bottom and leave “handles” at the top. When the tarts are done, I can lift them out of the tins by the handles of parchment paper. It’s especially useful when you make a filling that might bubble up and stick to the sides of the pan like in butter tarts. Thanks for the recipe! I’ve just made the shells and I’m waiting for them to cool before storing in the freezer for Easter. The filling is next on my to do list! Thanks again!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Sheila!
Marlene says
I would like to know if these could be made with almond flour?
Chris Scheuer says
I haven't personally tried these with almond flour. I plan to use these little shells for other tarts and when I do, I will test them with almond flour as well as GF flour.
Marlene says
I would be interested to see you can make shortbread with almond flour, apparently. I hope you’ll let me know what you some up with! Thank you