Lemon Verbena Tart Recipe

Make dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter bits remaining.

Bind and chill

Stir in the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cold water until the dough just begins to come together. Press the dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Blind bake

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" (3 mm) thick and line a 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with removable bottom. Trim excess and prick the base with a fork. Line the tart shell with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake another 8–10 minutes until lightly golden. Cool slightly.

Infuse lemon verbena

Place the chopped lemon verbena leaves and lemon zest in a small saucepan with the lemon juice. Warm gently over low heat just to steaming (do not boil) for 3 minutes to release aroma. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 10 minutes. Strain, pressing on leaves to extract liquid; discard solids. You should have roughly 3/4 cup infused lemon juice.

Temper eggs

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and cornstarch until smooth and pale. Slowly whisk about 2 tablespoons of the warm infused lemon juice into the egg mixture to temper, then gradually whisk the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining lemon juice in the saucepan.

Cook curd

Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon (170–175°F / 77–80°C) — about 6–8 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cubed room-temperature butter, a few pieces at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. If any small bits of cooked egg form, pass the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.

Fill tart shell

Pour the hot curd into the pre-baked tart shell, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to prevent a skin and chill the tart in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, until set.

When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle an even, thin layer of the granulated sugar (about 3 tablespoons) over the chilled curd surface, shaking off any excess so the sugar layer is uniform.

Using a kitchen blowtorch, melt and caramelize the sugar by moving the flame evenly until the sugar bubbles and turns a deep amber. Let the crust cool and harden for 1–2 minutes before slicing. If you do not have a torch, place the tart under a very hot broiler for 2–4 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.

Spoon the softened vanilla ice cream into a bowl and fold in the raspberry jam or puree gently to create a marbled ripple effect — do not fully mix. Fold in the optional fresh raspberries if using. Refreeze for 15–30 minutes to firm up if necessary before serving.

Alternatively, portion the softened ice cream into serving scoops and spoon small amounts of jam over each scoop, swirling with a spoon to create a ripple.

Slice the brûléed lemon verbena tart with a hot, dry knife (run under hot water and wipe dry between cuts) to get clean edges. Place a slice on each plate.

Add a scoop of raspberry ripple ice cream beside each tart slice. Garnish with 2–3 edible viola flowers and a couple of small lemon verbena leaves per plate. Serve immediately.