With just 6 ingredients, these lemon raspberry tartlets are bright, beautiful, and simple to make. Buttery pastry holds a tangy lemon cream filling and fresh raspberries!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe:
These two-bite lemon raspberry tarts are the perfect treat for brunch, bridal showers, or Mother’s day!
Lemon curd is folded into freshly whipped cream for a light but tangy filling.
This no-fuss pastry looks impressive but couldn’t be easier with just six ingredients!
- Buttery & flaky crust
- Pillowy lemon cream filling
- Portable treat
- Individual portion sizes
It isn’t spring without lemons! Feel free to use store-bought or homemade lemon curd for these raspberry lemon tartlets.
Lemon curd lasts for up to three weeks in the refrigerator! Use it in mini lemon raspberry tarts, lemon layer cake, lemon raspberry crepe cake, or a lemon Chantilly parfait!
Key Ingredient Notes:
- Cream cheese creates a crust that’s rich, flaky, and pliable. It shouldn’t crumble or tear as you work with it.
- Unsalted butter – Every tender pastry crust involves butter. It’s what makes pie crust flaky and crisp.
- All-purpose flour – Flour binds the butter and cream cheese to form a pastry dough. All-purpose flour provides more structure than pastry flour, but not so much that the pastry gets tough.
- Heavy cream whips into fluffy and firm peaks! There’s no need for sugar since the curd adds sweetness and tang.
- Lemon curd – Scratch-made lemon curd is luscious, but store-bought works in a pinch. Lemon curd lasts for three weeks in the refrigerator so it’s easy to make ahead!
- Raspberries add a bright pop of red!
How to make this recipe:
Make the mini tartlets:
- Mix: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. An electric hand mixer and a large bowl work too! Add the flour and beat just until a smooth dough forms – about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Chill: Use your hands to shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap. Don’t be alarmed by a soft and sticky dough. Refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to let it firm up a bit.
Tip
Avoid overmixing the dough. Overworked dough creates tough and chewy pastry!
- Roll: Cut the cold dough into 24 equal-sized pieces. Use a small rolling pin to flatten each piece to fit mini muffin cups. Place each piece into the cup of mini muffin pan.
- Bake: Bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let the mini tarts cool for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This allows them to set up first so they don’t break apart.
Make the filling:
- Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Then mix in lemon curd until well combined. Transfer the filling into a pastry bag.
Tip
Warm heavy cream won’t whip! Be sure to chill the heavy cream until just before you plan to use it.
Assemble raspberry lemon tartlets:
Fill the cooled tart shells with the lemon cream and then top each tartlet with a fresh raspberry!
Tips for Success:
- Don’t over-mix the dough! Overworking the dough develops the gluten strands which creates a tough and chewy texture.
- If you chill the dough too long, it will be hard to work with. For best results, chill it for 30 to 60 minutes.
- If you chill the pastry dough overnight, let the dough sit at room temperature until cold but not rock hard – about 30 minutes.
- Cold heavy cream is key for perfectly whipped cream. It should be cold, cold, cold for nice stiff peaks!
- Don’t over-whip heavy cream, or it’ll go from silky smooth to a clumpy mess. Keep a close eye and stop mixing once it reaches stiff peaks.
- Cool the tart shells completely before adding the filling! Whipped cream melts if it gets warm.
Make-Ahead Tips:
- Lemon curd can be made up to three weeks in advance. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or sealed jar.
- Make the tart dough a day in advance. Chill the dough, then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.
- You can bake the mini tartlets a day ahead and assemble the dessert right before serving.
Storing Tips:
- Mini lemon raspberry tarts are best served the day they are made!
- Store any leftover raspberry tartlets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FAQs:
Absolutely! Lemon curd tastes delicious in pastries! If you don’t have heavy cream or like a tangier filling, simply fill each tartlet with lemon curd, then top with a raspberry!
A tartlet is a miniature version of any type of pastry tart. Tarts are commonly made with shortcrust pastry and a sweet filling with fresh fruit, but the varieties are endless. Now you can find everything from cheesecake tarts to chocolate based ones!
Yes! Raspberry and lemon are a bright and springy combo! Raspberries are commonly paired with lemon desserts because they complement each other so well.
Video Demo:
Raspberry Lemon Tartlets
Ingredients
For crust:
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
For filling:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream Note 1
- 1/3 cup (90 g) lemon curd Note 2
- ½ cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about a minute. Add flour and continue mixing until smooth dough is formed, 1-2 minutes. Shape the dough into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Cut the chilled dough into 24 equal pieces. Flatten each dough to fit into the mini muffin pan cups and place into each cup.
- Bake the shells for 8-10 minutes, or until nice and golden brown. Cool the tart shells in the pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.
To make the filling:
- Whip the heavy cream until hard peaks form. Then gently fold in the lemon curd until well combined. Transfer the filling into a pastry bag.
To assemble:
- When ready to serve, fill the tart shells with the lemon cream filling and top with fresh raspberries. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
– Lemon curd can be made up to three weeks in advance. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or sealed jar.
– Mini lemon raspberry tarts are best served the day they are made!
– Store any leftover tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on July 2nd, 2015.
The recipe calls for 4oz. of cream cheese but in your video it looks more like 8oz.
Just wanted to confirm that it was just 4oz.
Hi, Lala. Thanks for your comment and asking. I apologize for confusion. I didn’t realize I made a mistake. It’s fixed now. If you decide to try this recipe, I’d love to hear your feedback. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your immediate reply. Much appreciated!
The lemon curd was awesome but when it came to mixing it with the whipping cream it turned out too liquidy for me and I did not like how it turned out. ( I did whip the heavy cream into stiff peaks before I added it but it’s still did not turn out.) So I ended up revamping the whole recipe and adding a box of vanilla pudding to the mix which ended up making it much thicker and so so good! Also the lemon curd mixture standed up perfectly in the tartlet cups, so I could use my frosting bags to put the lemon curd mixture into each little cup perfectly. They were so beautiful! Also I only used a half of a raspberry flipped upside down in the cups because a whole raspberry wouldn’t of fit in the tartlet cups. So it all turned out really good and I’m sure this is a good recipe it’s just that it didn’t turn out for me. Thank you very much for the awesome lemon curd recipe, it was great!
Hi, Kimberly. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!! I’m so happy you loved the lemon curd, and bummer it turned runny after mixing with whipped cream. You know, I read somewhere long time ago that a great baker/cook is not the one who makes a perfect dish every time from the get-go. A great baker/cook is the one who turns mishaps into something delicious despite the setbacks. And you’re the definition of that!! Good job. And thanks again for sharing your experience.
Hi! Thanks for the awesome recipe for the tartlets. Just tried making them to use with a savory filling. I’m wondering if you’ve tried making them in advance and storing them for a few days. Please let me know soon if possible. Thanks again…
Hi, Nidhi! Yes, you can make the dough in advance and store in the fridge for a few days. If you want to shape and bake them in advance, you can do that as well. Keep in air tight container at room temperature. But I’d suggest to do that 1 day in advance. Hope this helps. Thanks!
your lemon curd color does not look like the same color in the tartlet picture I like the tartlet color better how do you get it to be that color
Linda, you’re right. The colors are different because in this tartlet recipe, lemon curd is mixed with whipped cream, which creates the creamy color. The lemon curd photos are brighter, because it has no cream. Hope this helps.
we can see how they look but has anybody really tried to see if they TASTE good…if don’t matter how they look if they taste bad
Linda, totally understand your point. I too wish people would leave a comment when they try the recipe to help others to decide if it’s worth making it. That being said, I never post a bad recipe. And I’d like to think my recipe are delicious. 🙂 Hope you give it a try and if you do, please leave your feedback. Good, bad, and ugly, I can handle them all.
This look amazing! I love it 🙂
Thanks, Kayla!
Wow ,that looks so fresh and so appetizing.Beautiful Colors.
thank you for sharing
Thank you, Heghineh!