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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.
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.
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 1847 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
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.
This post was originally published on May 24, 2019
Made the tart this past weekend for a party and not only was it beautiful, it tasted amazing! I even got a complement from one of my 12 year olds! That says a lot in my household:) Made it in the morning about 10 and after 1 hour it wasn’t quite set but after about two it was pretty much ready to go (although didn’t serve it until late so plenty of time to fully set).
Thanks for an awesome, easy, and gorgeous recipe!
Thank you for trying this Eliza! I am so glad it turned out amazing! xTieghan
This recipe earns its name in how simple it really is… I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out (boil cream and expect it to set???) but it did and it was DIVINE. I followed the recipe exactly (ok, I added one more tablespoon of honey and left it in the fridge for 48 hours because dinner plans were delayed), and had to hand crush the crust ingredients because my food processor died… All that said, the results were phenomenal… A creamy layer (not too much, just enough) of delicious, rich, slightly tangy filling… Little spots of salt in the crust from the pretzels… Glorious little bits of rind, topped with blueberries and raspberries. This will definitely be on regular rotation this summer!
So amazing to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this, Dana! xTieghan
Hello, I would love to make this for a gluten-free friend. Do you think it would work to use gluten-free graham crackers and gluten-free pretzels? Thanks so much!
Hi, I can’t wait to make this recipe this weekend! I am making it for someone else go is gluten free. Do you think this would work with gluten free pretzels and gluten free graham crackers? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, GF graham crackers and pretzels will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
When you say 8 graham cracker sheets, are the sheets you are referring to have two per sheet or four per sheet? Thank you!
Hi Stacy! It is 2 crackers per sheet. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This tart is amazing!!! No surprise, you work magic as always Tieghan! Sometimes custard-based fillings are tricky because they won’t set, and I wasn’t sure about the boiling of the cream, but trusted the process and am so glad I did. There were no issues setting, it’s beautiful, it was easy, it’s delicious, a creamy subtle lemon flavor, hurray! Thank you!
Thank you Melissa! So happy to hear that this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious! We can’t get graham crackers in Australia so I used digestive biscuits. I made the crusts ahead of time and froze them, then the night b4 I did the filling. Can’t believe how quick and easy it is and how fast it set! Definitely a go-to recipe now!
Thank you so much Joy! I am so glad you love this recipe! xTieghan
I made this today and entered it in a baking contest. I won First Prize. Thanks, Tieghan! I compared this to the Melissa Clark recipe that was in the NYTimes this week. The only thing I did differently was to strain the mixture through a fine sieve to eliminate the lemon zest and added a bit more lemon juice. The result was a very smooth lemon cream. The contrast of graham cracker and pretzel crust is Genius. This is a winner!!! Someone requested I make this again for a garden club meeting this week.
WOW that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much Deborah! I hope everyone loves it at the garden club meeting! xTieghan
How many graham crackers are in a “sheet”? In Canada ours come packaged differently.
Hi there! It’s 8 crackers! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
No fuss is right! I had last minute guests join us for dinner the other night, on their anniversary night! I needed to whip together something quickly for dessert because you can’t let 41 years of marriage go uncelebrated. This recipe came together quickly, dirtied few dishes, didn’t require more then a several minutes in the oven and tasted fabulous!! I used the zest and juice of two large lemons, next time I make this tart (because there will be a next time) I may add the zest on an additional lemon as my family loves lemon flavored desserts.
I am so glad this turned out amazing for you Jessica! And congratulations/ Happy Anniversary to your guests that are celebrating 41 years! That is so beautiful! Thank you! xTieghan
Simply and tasty. I used Trader Joe’s coconut cream and it set beautifully. The texture with the coconut cream was similar to cheesecake.
Thank you Rebecca! xTieghan
This recipe is amazing, and so easy. I had no idea just boiling cream would make it thicken in this way without eggs. My husband wants me to make it a lot over the summer and I’ll definitely make it when we have people come for dinner. The only slight problem I had was that the pretzels didn’t break down in the food processor as quickly as the graham crackers, so I think I’ll try them separately next time, or crush the pretzels with a rolling pin. I also like the idea of trying a lime or even orange version as someone suggested. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Lisa! I am so glad you loved this recipe and it turned out amazing! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Made this today after oohing and aahing for a few days over the recipe! Left mine in the fridge to chill for 2 hours and it was still not set, but I couldn’t resist and cut myself and hubby a slice anyway. Absolutely deeeeeeelicious, albeit a little drippy! Maybe sticking it into the freezer for a half hour (with the additional hour chill in the fridge) would help for anyone who wants it set sooner?
The crust is so good – I love the mix of pretzels and graham crackers. I’d go as far as to say that I’d next time (yes I’m going to make this again!) use more pretzels because i love that salty taste they give. The cream is zingy and fresh, but still decadent. The sweetness definitely comes from the graham crackers, and I like that the dessert overall isn’t too sweet.
Strawberries make for a great addition. A blueberry compote might be a nice topping for the next time I try this! Would love to see this recipe built upon to have different variations, as it was so incredibly easy and so stupidly fast!
Hi Shannon! This is such an amazing comment to read! I am so glad you loved this recipe and I hope you love others as well! Thank you! xTieghan
Bi Tieghan,
Help! Though I have successfully made other HBH recipes, this one was a complete failure for me. I made cust, as directed with strained, boiled, cooled coconut cream. Took hours to set. Coconut cream formed a hard “crust” on top, and everything else was soggy and mushy underneath. Is there some ingredient or step missing from the CC. Version? After the mess I kept referring back to the recipe and can’t see where I went wrong.
Hey Mary, I am not sure why but people seem to be having issues with using coconut cream. What brand coconut milk did you use? When I make it with coconut milk it works just fine, so I would love to know what brand you use? If you try again, boil for 10 minutes and see if that thickens it for you. Also, did you use the coconut water or just the cream? Please let me know if you have any other questions.Thank you! xTieghan
thank you so much Tieghan for the recipe!) I baked it last weekend it was really delicious!!such a gentle and fresh taste ! I decided to cut some strawberries and put it inside the filling,because i bought a little more that i needed. and i think it made it juicy. anyway it was awesome.. going to bake it again)
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much! xTieghan