This Vegan Lemon Tart is made with no Eggs and No Dairy. The homemade flakey pastry is filled with a super tangy vegan lemon curd, perfect for a party or afternoon tea!
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How to make a Vegan Pie Crust
Making a Vegan Tart Crust is exactly the same as making a classic one, except the fat used is different. Typically, a tart pastry is made with Butter but since we are making this one dairy-free, I have used Coconut Oil.
I have made this vegan pastry recipe using Coconut Oil multiple times and it has always worked great! The pastry will be slightly more likely to break when you roll it, but that can easily be rectified with the heat of your finger.
Just like with my Vegan Cacao Tart Pastry, you will use classic ingredients to make this vegan tart crust:
- Plain Flour
- Almond Meal
- Icing Sugar
- Coconut Oil
- Cold Water
How to make Vegan Lemon Curd Filling
Do not get scared by the name; making an Eggless Lemon Curd is far from being a challenge! A classic Lemon Curd is made with Egg Yolks, which gives its typical consistency when cooked.
You will thus simply need to find an alternative to eggs. To make this Eggless Lemon Tart Filling, I simply used Cornstarch to thicken the lemon juice and coconut cream, then Agar Agar Powder to help it firm up in the fridge.
If you are not familiar with Agar Agar Powder - a plant-based gelling agent to use instead of gelatine - you can read more about it here.
Because a classic Lemon Curd gets its bright yellow colour from the egg yolks, I have used Turmeric Powder to create the illusion. Not only it has incredible colouring power (and supposedly very good for you too), Turmeric Powder is also basically tasteless, which is great for this recipe!
It's like you would never know that it is both an eggless and a dairy free lemon curd!
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More Vegan Recipes with Agar Agar Powder:
- Vegan Strawberry Coconut Panna Cotta
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse Tart with Raspberries
- No Bake Mini Blueberry Tarts
- Orange and Grapefruit Panna Cotta
To make the curd:
- Mix some Lemon Juice, Coconut Cream, Caster Sugar, Cornstarch and Turmeric Powder then heat it up in a pot on low/medium heat.
- Keep whisking until the curd starts thickening, then bring to a small boil.
- Add the Agar Agar Powder and whisk for another minute. Pour the Vegan Lemon Curd over the pre-baked tart pastry.
Using Aquafaba to make Vegan Meringues
To finish this Lemon Tart the classic way, I made some Vegan Meringue Cookies using Aquafaba. I wrote a whole article on How to Make Aquafaba Meringue Cookies.
If you decide to make these little eggless meringues to decorate your vegan lemon tart, be careful not to put them on too early. The are rather fragile and will most likely melt on the tart; so make sure to place them on your dessert just before serving it!
More Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
- Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- Vegan No Bake Mango Cheesecake
- Vegan Sticky Date Puddings
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Recipe
Easy Vegan Lemon Tart
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
- 1 cup (150gr) Plain Flour
- 1/2 cup (50gr) Almond Meal
- 2 tbsp (20gr) Icing Sugar
- 2/3 cup (100gr) Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Cold Water
Vegan Lemon Curd
- 3/4 cup (175ml) Lemon Juice - approx. 4 small lemons
- 1 cup (220ml) Coconut Cream
- 4 tbsp (60gr) Caster Sugar, or to taste - see note below
- 2 tbsp (15gr) Cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teasp. (3gr) Agar Agar Powder
- 1 teasp. Turmeric Powder, optional, to taste for colouring
Instructions
Pastry Crust
- Place the Plain Flour, Almond Meal and Icing Sugar in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Add the cold Coconut Oil and pulse until it resemble wet sand / thin crumbs. Add the cold water and continue pulsing until the pastry comes together.
- Transfer onto a lightly floured surface and assemble into a ball. Cover with wrap and leave in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the coconut oil starts to harden.
- Preheat your oven on 180'C / 350'F.Generously flour your kitchen bench and roll the pastry to create a large disc. If the pastry cracks, simply use your fingers to re-assemble it. Place in a Tart Tin with removable bottom and prick the crust with a fork. Cover with a small sheet of baking paper and fill with baking beads, weights or dried beans.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes with the beads/weight, then carefully remove and leave to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes or until fully cooked. Set aside to cool down.
Vegan Lemon Curd
- Mix the Lemon Juice, Coconut Cream, Caster Sugar, Cornstarch and Turmeric Powder until no lumps remain. Place in a small pot and bring to a slow boil. Don't stop whisking the liquid until it starts thickening to avoid burning it. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking if required.
- When the curd starts to boil, add the Agar Agar Powder, whisk for one extra minute and remove from the stove. Directly pour into the blind-baked pastry and place in the fridge to set for 2 hours.
- Optional: decorate with Aquafaba Meringues or Lemon Zests.
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Notes
- The lemon filling is relatively low in sugar and quite tangy. That's how I personally like my lemon tarts, but feel free to increase the quantity of sugar if you prefer it sweeter.
- Don't worry if the pastry seem to crack a bit, you can patch it back with your fingers. Use the heat of your hands to heat up the coconut oil and patch any cracks!
- For a creamier - but less stable - lemon filling, you can reduce the amount of Agar Agar slightly. The curd will not hold its shape as well, but it will give you a creamier texture.
- Before adding the agar, taste the lemon cream and adjust the sugar to your liking if needed.
