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This No Fuss Lemon Tart is that go-to dessert…super easy, yet delicious and pretty too. The filling is made with four base ingredients, heavy cream, honey, lemon, and vanilla extract. The crust is a mix of sweet graham crackers, salty pretzels, and just a touch of butter. When combined with the creamy lemon filling it makes for a mouthwatering tart that’s sweet, luscious, super creamy, and a touch salty. Top with an assortment of fresh berries for a tart that’s perfect for both spring and summer.
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Happy Friday! What a fun week it’s been here in LA. I have to say, I’m so excited about everything we have been working on. I’m also pretty glad I escaped all the snow in Colorado this week and swapped it for the California sunshine. It’s been a bit cooler than I might like, but I really shouldn’t complain! We’ve been running around the city all week filming some fun new videos. It’s been such a great change of scenery for me!
With Friday here I am beyond happy to be sharing this no fuss lemon tart. It’s a recipe I’ve been really excited to share since the day I made it, and for a few reasons.
First and foremost, this tart is delicious. It’s lightly sweetened, tangy, creamy and finished with sweet berries. The crust has a little (pretzel) twist and is lightly salted, providing a nice balance to the tang and sweetness.
Second, not only is this tart beyond simple to make (just 4 base ingredients in the filling), but it’s almost no bake. I say almost because the crust does need to bake, but trust me, the toasty flavor is so worth it!
And finally, this tart is so pretty, which some of you may not be that concerned with. But you all know me, I love anything that tastes just as pretty as it looks.
Traditionally lemon tarts are made with a ton of eggs, cream, and butter, but this tart is very different. It uses only cream, zero eggs, and is pretty low in the sugar content…no actual sugar, just honey.
Let me back up a bit though, and tell you about the crust. Most tarts call for an all graham cracker crust, but I wanted to do something different and add a little saltiness to the already sweet graham crackers. Instead of using all graham crackers I went for a mix of graham crackers and pretzels. It’s not what you might typically put together, but trust me when I say, this crust is a game changer. It’s sweet and just a touch salty too. The best combo.
While the crust is baking, work on the filling. It’s the simplest thing and you’re going to be shocked when I tell you the ingredients. All you need is heavy cream, honey, lemon, and vanilla. Yep, just four very simple ingredients, zero eggs, and almost zero effort.
All you need to do is bring the cream to a boil, boil 5 minutes, remove from the stove, add the lemon and vanilla…and that’s it! Be sure to use a large pot, bigger than you think you will need. Heavy cream really likes to boil over, so use the largest pot you have to be safe.
When testing this recipe I was concerned that the cream was not going to set up. But shockingly it set up within the first 30 minutes of chilling. Boiling the cream thickens it, and allows for it to set up just like it would if using eggs.
My favorite part though? I find this to be creamier than the usual lemon tart which is so much fancier and use eggs. It’s crazy to me, but I promise, this is one of the best lemon tarts. And the major bonus is that it’s so simple!!
If you happen to be someone who prefers dairy free, I tested this with both heavy cream and coconut cream (no water, just the cream). Both worked really well! If you are using coconut cream, make sure it is high quality and boil the coconut cream for a total of 10 minutes. Personally, I love the flavor of the coconut. But it does change the tart slightly, giving a little more of a tropical flavor. So use what you love most here!
Finally, finish the tart off with a handful of your favorite fresh berries. You’ll have the prettiest dessert that takes almost no effort at all. In the words of Ina Garten, “This looks fantastic. How easy was that?”.
PS. If you’re in need of more than one tart this Memorial Day weekend, try this no bake fruit tart filled with strawberries. It will be a nice compliment to this lemon tart.
If you make this no fuss lemon tart, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
No Fuss Lemon Tart.
Ingredients
- 8 full size graham cracker sheets, (about 1 cup once crushed into crumbs)
- 1 cup salted pretzel twists
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons + 1/3 cup honey
- 3 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest + 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups mixed fresh berries
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. To make the crust. In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and pretzels into semi-fine crumbs. Add the butter and 2 tablespoons honey and pulse until the mixture holds together when pinched and starts to look like dough. Press the dough into an 8 or 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom to form a flat, even crust. Transfer to the oven and bake until toasted, about 8 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, combine the heavy cream, remaining 1/3 cup honey, and lemon zest in a large pot, bigger than you think you'll need. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, boil 5 minutes and then remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Let cool 10 minutes. 4. Carefully pour the lemon cream into the baked crust. Cover and chill 1 hour or until set. Before serving, remove the tart from the pan and top with fresh berries.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made it.. and we LOVED IT! The demand is that I make 2 tarts the next time!!
Very easy to make, very flavorful. I drizzled raspberry jam on the top of the tart before dressing it up with the fruit.
Thank you so much Jaya! xTieghan
Do you stir while cream is boiling for the 5 minutes or just stir until boiling then leave alone? Thank you!
Hi there! I like to stir every other minute or so, but no need to stir the entire time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe and happy 4th of July! Thank you! xTieghan
Came out looking beautiful and had a great flavor, but my crust was very soggy. I’m glad I was just testing it and not serving it. My tart pan is 11 inches so I followed your recipe+1/3, for that reason, I’m not sure if I messed something up that resulted in the soggyness.
Hi there! It is hard to know what happened without any details. Did you change the measurements much? How long did you bake the crust? How long did you let the tart chill? Any info you can give me would be so helpful in problem solving the issue as others haven’t experienced a soggy crust so I am a little stumped. So sorry for any trouble, but hope I can help!! Thank you! xTieghan
Wondering, do you remove the tart crust from the pan? If so, do you simply wait until its completely cool and then carefully flip it over? Any tips would be helpful! I can’t wait to try this recipe, I bought a tart pan just to make so many of your lovely recipes!
Hey Hazel! The bottom of the tart pan easily pops out, so you just push up and out comes the cake. Promise it’s super easy! You should remove the pan before adding the whipped cream. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Yummy tart. Made it for the event and everyone loved it. Loved the honey flavor! Reminded of Panna cotta. Thank you!
Thank you so much Agne!! I am so glad everyone enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan
This tart was AMAZING!!! The crust was awesome with the salt of the pretzels. And the tart not too sweet and SO creamy. Everyone raved and asked for the recipe! Thank you for yet another winner!!!
Thank you Jennifer!! xTieghan
I made this twice with heavy cream. So beautiful. The first time it took an overnight in the fridge before it set. The second time it set after a half hour. I don’t think I did anything differently. I did boil the cream for 10 minutes both times just in case, even though it was heavy cream and not coconut. In any case, this was the best tart and everyone was so impressed! Thanks for the recipe, I will be making this all summer!
So amazing to hear! I am really glad you loved this recipe, Tricia! xTieghan
This was indeed simple to make and delicious. I also made a vegan version with coconut milk and chia seeds.
YUM! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you! Thank you Rebecca! xTieghan
Wow, you have really outdone yourself on this one! Best recipe yet! I made this on a Saturday and it took longer than an hour to set so our next opportunity to eat it was on Monday after dinner. 48 hours in the fridge and it was absolutely perfect. So many things to love about this tart, but highlights for me are: the sweet/salty crust, the simplicity and ease of the recipe, and the lovely lemony flavor of the filling. Definitely a keeper!
So amazing!! Thank you so much for trying this! xTieghan
Um, mine didn’t set.
Hi Valaria! I am sorry to hear that! Could you give me more information, so I could help you out? xTieghan
I made this last night and it was so good! I used Meyer Lemons which gave it a geat flavour. My fanmily loved it. I can’t believe how easy and simple. Best part is that I can share with my vegetarian friends.
Id like to try making the tart with other flavours. Is the lemon juice necessary to make the filling set?
Hi Kris! I am so glad you loved this!!
Yes, the acid is needed from the lemon juice. You can use lime juice in place of the lemon juice though! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! xTieghan
Can I freeze this to have it set faster?
Hi there! You can, but could potentially change the texture slightly. I would not leave the tart in the freezer for more than 1 hour. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious and so simple to make! Great tip about the larger pot 🙂
Thank you so much Bhavna! I am so glad you liked this! xTieghan
I’m not going to lie- I was very sceptical regarding this tart- I thought it was too good to be true. I made it this morning, it’s so ridiculously simple to make. I’m in Melbourne, Australia and I used digestive biscuits with some parkers pretzels. I also used a supermarket brand thickened cream. I used 1 tbs brown sugar in the biscuit base and about 3 tbs caster sugar in the cream (the honey I had was not enough and I was worried that it was too strong in flavour and didn’t want it to affect the lemon flavour- if that makes sense) I was convinced it wasn’t going to set- but it did, and it’s fabulous and delicious!!! Thank you- I have always enjoyed your recipes and have had a lot of success when I make them….. so, shame on me for doubting you. Thank you again!
So happy you ended up making this and loving it! Thank you so much Alex! xTieghan
Made this today in Liberia and it was such a hit that I am making it again for a birthday brunch tomorrow. I had to make some substitutes since I couldn’t find lemon or berries. I used lime zest and lime juice, about a quarter cup of cream of coconut in with the regular cream (decreasing the honey to a quarter cup) and topped with passion fruit calling it a coconut lime tart with passion fruit. The crust was delicious (digestives substituted for the graham crackers) and the passion fruit was the perfect amount of sourness with the tart 🙂 It took about 3 hours for mine to perfectly set for serving. Thank you!
So happy you loved this recipe Ami, and you made it work with ingredients you could find! Love it! Thank you! xTieghan