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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
Hi there, can this be made a day in advance of eating it?
Hi Tara! Yes, this can be made and kept in the fridge (without the berries) for 3-4 days. Add the berries just before serving. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
You had me at pretzels in the crust!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you love it Janet! Thank you! xTieghan
Delicious-despite the fact that I was a HOT MESS while making this! First I only used 2 TBSP of the butter and didn’t realize my mistake until after it came out of the oven. Then, I walked away from the stove as my pot boiled over – WAY over. I dumped the remaining into my biggest soup pot, added 1/4 cup more cream and some extra zest and hoped for the best.
To my surprise and utter delight, it STILL worked! Crust held together and it set perfectly! This recipe is a keeper!
Wow I am so glad this still turned out amazing for you, Michelle! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this lemon tart, following the recipe exactly. It was perfect! it made a beautiful presentation and everyone loved it. It was a nice alternative to our usual chocolate desserts. I will definitely be making this again and can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
That is so great to hear! Thank you for trying this recipe, Deborah! I am so glad it turned out amazing! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
Crazy Coconut Milk lady here again. Success! I made this last night again. 2 drained cans of well drained TJ’s coconut cream. I boiled 10 minutes but it was still separated and really runny, and brown, and I thought, “oh, no!” The key to success was cool coconut cream about 15-20 mins, pour into clean bowl, then whisked over an ice bath until combined and thickened, pour into cooled crust. Chill and Yum!!!
Yes love it! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Mary! Thank you! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan,
Thank you so much for the recipe it turned out perfectly and was delicious!! The lady who I served it couldn’t stop raving about it she insisted I tried it. I did’t want to stop at one piece it was that good. i’ll be making it for myself very soon. The lemon cream is so refreshing and light. It very well may become my new favorite go to dessert. I’d love to share a pic where do I do that here or on IG thanks again!!
I am so glad you loved this recipe Mike! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This pie was absolutely delicious and so quick and easy to make! I will make this again and again! My only tip is, that i baked the crust, and it was still kind of warm when i poured on the warm cream mixture and the pressure of the cream kind of made a whole in the crust. SO i’d let the crust cool completely and slowly pour in the cream. But the end result still look fantastic, so creamy and cut like a dream!
Thank you so much Bree! SO glad this turned out amazing for you and pretty too! xTieghan
Hi!!
Do you think I could sub lime juice/zest for the lemon?
Hey Ashley! Lime zest will be delicious. Great idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
I am the one with the coconut milk disaster. Thank you for your reply. For some reason I am not able to reply back directly to your comment. To answer your question, I used the Trader Joe’s coconut cream, which several others seemed to use successfully. I did drain all the liquid off. Should I have kept it in the mix? 3 cups cream amounted to 2.5 cans, so I may try with only 2 cans of cream instead. I am NOT giving up and determined to make this, as I want to serve it at book club.
Hey Mary! You should drain off all the water. I have never used Trader Joes coconut milk, BUT this time try boiling 10 minutes. This has worked better for other who have made this with coconut milk. I hope you ed up loving this recipe! Let me know how it goes! Thank you! xTieghan
Im making this tonight. Do you need to whisk the cream constantly while its boiling for 5 minutes? Id be worried the cream would burn on the bottom if i didn’t? And advice would be great!
Hi! You don’t need to whisk the entire time, but I do recommend stirring ever minute to keep an eye on things. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi !
Could you tell me which substitute i could use for graham crackers ? Because they’re not sell in Belgium.. 🙂
Thank you so much !!
HI there! I would recommend using your favorite sweet cracker that is somewhat similar to a graham cracker. Really anything you enjoy eating that is cracker like and breaks into crumbs will work well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made the “no fuss lemon tart” and want to fuss just a little bit because I would have liked more information.
Nabisco has reduced the size of their graham crackers in recent years so would have liked a measured amount designated. I ended up using one extra cracker. Ditto the pretzels. Was the one cup, pre-processed pretzels? That’s what I used and it worked out fine. You said use a bigger sauce pan than you would think. Why didn’t you say that if you don’t use a large sauce pan, the mixture will boil over. Door bell range. I was gone 45 seconds and had a boil over.
Finally. My tart didn’t taste lemony enough. I bought my lemons at Fry’s (Kroger’s brand in Phoenix) the morning that I made the tart, but the quality of the lemons were more a “B” grade than A quality.
All in all. Very easy and elegant when served with strawberries. Familyy gave a two thumbs up, but I only give it 4 stars for not having enough lemon taste.
Hi Gerry, for the graham crackers you need 8 full size sheets, which will be about 1 rounded cup once the crackers have been crushed. I am personally not sure of a clearer way to say this. For the pretzels, you need 1 cup of whole, uncrushed pretzels twist. If the measurement was for pre-processed pretzels it would have said, 1 cup crushed pretzels. Does this make sense?
For the sauce pan, I stated to use large pan, one bigger than you think, so again, not sure how to be more clear. I also mentioned this within the blog post copy, did you read that?
For the lemons, as this is a lemon tart it is very important to use high quality lemons. If they don’t have good flavor going into the tart then they will not create a lemony tart. I recommend tasting the lemons before using to ensure they have great flavor.
Hope this clears up everything for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! xTieghan
Loving how easy this recipe really is!!! The only thing is mine has been in the fridge for an hour and 10 min… how do I make this dessert set faster next time?
Hey Jessi, this tart does take some time to firm up, so I don’t really have a way for you to speed the process up. The tart filling just needs time to chill and set in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this yesterday and omg it’s delicious! The perfect amount of tart. The graham cracker and pretzel crust is also amazing. The only issue I had was the consistency. I refrigerated it for a good 3-4 hours and it wasn’t as congealed as it should have been. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
Hey Tyler! Was there anything different about the way you made the tart? Did you boil the cream longer? Any changes? If you can give me details I can help you problem solve! I so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made this on a weeknight. It truly was no-fuss! I left it overnight in the fridge and it set beautifully without eggs. The sweet lemony cream was delicious and I decorated it lavishly with strawberries, blackberries. pom arils and edible pansies . Thanks for the recipe. So making this again!!
Thank you so much Tricia! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan