This recipe for my gluten free Tangy Thyme Tart has been a long labor of love. I have made so many versions of this recipe that I can’t even count. Variations on this lemon filling were turned into pies with different crusts, parfaits and filling for layered cake, to name a few. Tangy Thyme Tart is somewhat of a combination of a few recipes I have made over the years. The crust is primarily made with almond flour, butter and plenty of fresh thyme. The lemon filling is my take on a lemon curd- sweet, tangy and fresh. A beautiful combination of flavors and mouth puckering good!
Of course, the combination of lemon and thyme is a classic, but is usually found in savory dishes. I love a lemon curd, lemon bars and lemon meringue pie. Desserts with a contrast of sweet and tart are wonderful to me. Add in a tender crust or crumble and the subtle herby flavor from fresh thyme and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. A touch of fresh whipped cream makes this dessert special, like what you would expect from a bakery or restaurant. Yet this recipe doesn’t require any special skills. In fact, you don’t even need to temper the eggs for my lemon filling!
Making the Crust
Typically with a tart crust, you’d make a shortcrust pastry which can be sensitive to how much you handle the dough due to the gluten in the flour. Since this crust doesn’t have any gluten in it, you don’t have to worry about overworking it. Yay!! A win for gluten free baking! The almond flour remains tender and easy to work with while mixing and pressing into the pan. It bakes up nicely and still remains a bit moist and tender while holding its form. The flavor is buttery, sweet and has a hint of thyme, of course! Almond flour can be expensive, I have found Costco’s Kirkland brand pretty reasonably priced.
The Tangy Lemon Filling
I love pastry cream and lemon curd, but tempering eggs is one of my least favorite techniques while cooking and baking. I know that I am not alone in this! So in all of my recipe testing and research, I found that I could make this filling without needing to temper the eggs! My technique is simple. And it works for making pastry cream too!
Begin by beating the eggs and sugar on a high speed with your mixer, off the stove. You want the mixture to reach the ribbon stage where it is a light yellow color. Then add in the mixture of lemon juice and cornstarch. Once that has been combined well, place your pot on the stove over a low heat. I continue to use my mixer on a low speed and a spatula to scrape the sides. This keeps the mixture moving as it slowly heats. You can just use the spatula, but you really need to keep the liquid moving so that it doesn’t have any hot spots or cook to the bottom or sides of the pot.
In about 10 minutes, it begins to thicken. You will also begin to notice the smell of sweet, tangy lemons at this point. In another minute or two it will be thick enough to coat your spatula. Then turn the heat off and add the butter, stirring until it is completely combined. At this point it is ready to pour into the pre-baked crust.
All Together Now!
Once the crust and filling have been baked together, the filling will still be jiggly when it is taken out of the oven. That’s okay though! It won’t firm up until it has been thoroughly chilled in the fridge. Therefore, it would be best to make this the day before you plan to eat it. When you are ready to serve it, top it with a dollop of freshly made whipped cream and or berries if you’d like.
Give this a try too!
- Lime in the Coconut Pie
- Elevated Almond Cake
- Cherry Cream Pie
- Blueberry Cardamom Cream Pie
- Chocolate Macaroon Tart
Tangy Thyme Tart
Ingredients
For the Thyme Crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves pulled from stems
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 4-6 Tbsp butter melted
For the Lemon Filling:
- 1 ¼ cups 100% lemon juice fresh squeezed or high quality bottled (not from the plastic lemon)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 whole egg
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line & grease a 9 inch springform pan.
- Combine almond flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and fresh thyme in a medium bowl. Gradually add melted butter until it it is damp, but not greasy and holds when pressed to the side of the bowl. You may not need all of the butter.
- Transfer to the prepared springform pan and press into the bottom and about an inch up the sides.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, remove and set aside while preparing the filling.
- Combine lemon juice and cornstarch, stirring until the cornstarch dissolves.
- In a large saucepan (not on the stove yet), combine eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Beat with a mixer on a high speed until light in color and sugar is mostly dissolved. Add lemon juice mixture, combining thoroughly with the mixer on a low speed to prevent splashing.
- Place the pan on the stove and turn heat to a low setting. Continue stirring or using your mixer on a low speed, scraping the bottom and sides with a spatula frequently. To prevent the eggs from cooking, the mixture needs to heat very slowly and needs to be stirred constantly.
- Once the mixture has thickened and coats a spoon, remove from heat and stir in butter. Next pour into the pre-baked tart shell. Bake for another 10 minutes then let cool to room temp. The filling will be jiggly and won’t set until it has been chilled through in the fridge.
- Top with fresh whipped cream and/or berries if you wish.