How long does it take to make Lemon Cream Tart?

Pour the lemon cream into the baked, cooled shell and chill at least 3 hours, until the cream sets; pipe the meringue onto the cold tart.

4 hr 1 minTotal

16 minActive time

3 hr 45 minSetting

#	What to do	How long
1	Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl	1 min
2	Add the cold butter in cubes and rub it in with your fingertips	1 min
3	Add the egg and cold water and quickly bring together with your hands, without kneading, just	1 min
4	Whip the soft butter with the sugar	—
5	Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes	30 min
6	Roll out the dough and line a 24 cm Tart pan with it, sides included. Prick the bottom with a fork	—
7	Top with parchment paper and weights (or dried beans) and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) for 15 minutes	15 min
8	Put the egg yolks and the sugar in a small pot and whisk together	—
9	Add the lemon juice and mix	1 min
10	Set over low heat and stir nonstop for about 10 minutes	10 min
11	Remove from the heat and add the cold butter in cubes, stirring	1 min
12	Pour the cream into the cooled shell and smooth the top	1 min
13	Chill for at least 3 hours	3 hr

The butter must stay cold: butter that melts in your hands gives a hard dough instead of a crumbly one. Work quickly, and if the dough warms up, put it back in the fridge.
Knead as little as possible: long kneading develops gluten, and the dough comes out tough and shrinks in the oven.
Cream the butter soft, at room temperature: cold butter doesn't take in air, and melted butter doesn't hold it.
Chilling firms the butter and relaxes the gluten: the dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick to the counter and doesn't shrink in the oven.
Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
The weights keep the dough from puffing up and shrinking from the sides: without them the bottom bubbles and the shell comes out lopsided.