I just can’t seem to stay away from berries these days…or lemons for that matter. Put the two together and I am one happy camper! Aren’t these Lemon Berry Mascarpone Tarts just cheery? And trust me when I say they are delicious too. If you are intimidated by the thought of making a tart, don’t be, they are actually very easy to make.
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The Dough:
I start with a lemon shortbread crust that takes less than ten minutes to make. This shortbread is light and lemony and makes a sturdy crust for the tart. Once the dough is combined, just use your fingers to press into the tart pans, then bake. The tart pans are non stick and the bottom pops out so you can lift the tart right out of the pan without worrying about breaking the crust!
The Filling and Toppings:
After the lemon shortbread crust cools, you fill with a mixture of mascarpone cheese and lemon curd, then top with berries. That is it! Simple right? Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and you have a delicious dessert perfect for sharing.
Whether you choose to top with antioxidant rich blueberries…
…sweet, ripe strawberries…
…or luscious raspberries, these tarts will be scrumptious!
The Recipe: Lemon Berry Mascarpone Tarts
What you will need: Non stick 4.75″ tart pans with removable bottoms. Mascarpone cheese is usually found in the grocery store near the cream cheese. In fact Mascarpone is very similar to cream cheese, but has is smoother and creamier consistency and an Italian accent:) You can find lemon curd near the jams or have it delivered to your door. You will need a microplane to zest citrus.
A light lemony tart loaded with fresh berries.
- 1¼ sticks butter room temp
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling dough
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 8 oz 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup lemon curd
- Your choices of berries. I used strawberries blueberries and raspberries.
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Preheat oven to 325 and place rack in center of oven.
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Using a hand mixer or bowl mixer, mix butter and sugars in a large bowl until well blended.
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Add salt, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix till well incorporated.
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Add flour and mix. At first the dough will crumble and fall apart.
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Remove dough from bowl and set on a cutting board or counter and gently knead with hands until dough forms a ball.
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Take dough in segments and press into tart pans. Start with the bottom and then build up the sides, Dough should be about a 1/4" thick all the way around.
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Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of dough.
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Place tins on a cookie sheet.
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Sprinkle dough with granulated sugar and bake for 25 minutes or until dough is cooked and slightly golden.
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Remove from oven and allow cool completely.
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Fill with mascarpone/lemon curd mixture, top with berries, sprinkle with powdered or course granulated sugar, remove tart from tin and serve. Each tart is enough to serve 2 people.
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Use a fork or hand mixer to mix mascarpone and lemon curd until smooth.
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Fill tarts, top with berries. Sprinkle with sugar,
More Lemon Recipes:
Lemon Shortbread Bars with Strawberries
Roasted Chicken with Lemon Honey Glaze
Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Berries and Raspberry Coulis
Lemon Butter Halibut with Zoodles
Fresh Strawberry Basil Lemonade
MAY I PLEASE ASK A FAVOR?
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I have never baked with Mascarpone but I think I am going to have to now:)
You actually don’t have to bake the mascarpone! You just mix it with the lemon curd and fill the baked crust!
I have yet to try mascapone and i think i your recipe would be my first try for this dessert. I love your photography and your recipe. I am very excited to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Linda I could ear one of these all by myself. Look really good
These are just SO pretty! I love that it is officially berry season and have yet to include berries in my baking : ) This inspires me for sure!
These look amazing and so refreshing for the season! Perfect for a Summer bridal shower! Saving immediately! XO
Anna || A Lily Love Affair
These look too pretty to eat – so lovely!
Oh my, these look like a wonderful treat! A lovely spring dessert! Yum!
These look so good! Great recipe! 🙂
This is great! I love baking with mascarpone so this is a great addition to my (fairly long) list of recipes! Awesome post!
These look absolutely amazing! I seriously want to try these.
How can you do this to me??? Now I feel like I have to bake all night to make those babies. They look so freaking delicious. Could you maybe just send some over? Pretty pretty please? 🙂
Lol…you don’t have to bake all night! It will take less than an hour start to finish!
Drooling over here. Those look SO good!
These tarts look so good! I think I’ll try out the recipe this summer… It would be perfect for a yummy summertime dessert. And your photography has got me drooling!
YUM. I want to make these ASAP. They look absolutely delicious!
xo Ashley
I’ve always wanted to learn to bake! These looks so delicious!
These look so perfect and tasty!
Elegant supply 🙂 taste, no doubt, excellent!
Oh these little tarts are almost to pretty to eat… almost. 🙂
YUM these look so good!
Such an inviting recipe, Linda. Perfect for company!
Such pretty images! They look so fresh and yummy. I think this would be perfect for a Mother’s Day brunch.
These tarts are beautiful…I’m thinking mother’s day.
Mmmmmm…yes! I love everything about this!
These are gorgeous!!! Wish I had some today.
These sounds AMAZING!!! Where do you get lemon curd and the cheese from?
Thanks! The grocery store but I link to them in the post if you can’t find them.
These look absolutely perfect! Such gorgeous pictures too. I’m pinning (and forwarding to my Mum!). Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the pin!
Are you kidding me? These look crazy delicious! So perfect for Mother’s Day brunch.
Yup 🙂
That lemon shortbread crust. though, come on YES!! You really made these tarts look easy. The looks great!
I love a pretty fruit tart and I’m especially loving the sound of this crust!
Do you make your own lemon curd ever, or is it something that’s bought at the store? It seems like everyone’s talking about lemon curd lately, and I have to admit that I don’t even know what it is! However, I assume it’s lemony, and mixed with those berries and that crust, it sounds amazing!
You can make it, but I bought it at the store:)
Oh the mascarpone – so yum!!! These tarts look like a lovely and delicate treat with some herbal tea.
These looked so delicious I had to pin! Lemon is one of my favorite dessert flavors. I totally want to make these.
Looks so good! If I don’t have mini tart tins, could I just quadruple the reciple and use it in a 9 in tin?
I would think you wouldn’t need to make any more dough than is in the recipe to fill a 9″ tin. It make four 4 inch tins so I would think you would even have some left over.
Thank you for such a beautiful recipe! This is the best tart pastry recipe I have ever used. The shortbread melts in your mouth and its sweetness is proportional to the zest of the lemon filling. I wasn’t sure how the pastry would turn out so I filled the tins, pierced with a fork, refrigerated for 20 minutes and then baked them until they were golden. Amazing!
I am so happy you liked them! Thanks for the comment!
No problem! Also, could this dough recipe be used in a muffin pan for slightly smaller tarts? I’m looking to make around 20, and would be baking the tart shells the day before they are filled with the curd. Thank you so much for your help!
While I have not tried it, I would assume it would work. Or you could get really mini tarts pans…those would be cute;)
I’m making these the day ahead. Should I just make the crust and fill them the following day? How do you recommend storing them overnight?
I would definitely not fill them or put the berries on until just before serving. To store the shortbread I would seal them in a container or wrap in plastic and leave them on the counter. Hope you love them!
Going to make for my Bible Study group, thank you for comment about not filling baked Tart until day of serving~
Great! I hope your friends love them!