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Summer Lemon Tart

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Creamy Lemon Tart with a Salted Pretzel and Graham Cracker Crust – light and refreshing at the same time!

Summer dessert perfection is here.  Simple ingredients come together to make a creamy cool tart that tastes like a lemon bar but so much better!  The best part is the salted pretzel graham cracker crust, which balances out the deliciously decadent filling.  This versatile recipe comes from the imitable Tieghan Girard of Half Baked Harvest (halfbakedharvest.com). My version is slightly bigger (my tarte pan is 10 in. vs. 8/9 in) and I increased a tiny amount of salt in the crust.  The flavors are perfect, and this is a gem of a recipe.  It will seem like you spent hours on it – trust me, you won’t.  All you need is time to chill before serving, so plan ahead and make this the morning of, or even the day before.

With minimal ingredients, you need to source the best for this one.  The saltiest pretzels, freshly squeezed lemon juice, cold cream, and fresh local summer berries to top it off.  Note that this recipe makes extra filling, which you could fill into juice glasses and eat like a pudding for breakfast!

One of my favorite friends celebrated her birthday this past weekend, and this was what I made for her – I think she liked it…

Summer Lemon Tart

Print Recipe
Light and creamy Lemon Tart with a salted pretzel graham cracker crust.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Lemon Tart, graham cracker crust, lemon pie
Servings 8

Equipment

  • Tarte Pan (mine is 10 inches, but you can scale back for 8 or 9 inch)

Ingredients

For the Crust

  • 12 graham cracker sheets about 1.5 packages
  • 1.5 cups salted pretzel twists
  • 1 stick melted butter
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the filling

  • 4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  • NOTE: My tarte pan is 10 inches, but many are smaller, so you can adjust the recipe and scale back a bit as needed.

To Make the Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350, and set a rack in the middle of the oven.
  • Combine the graham crackers, pretzel twists, and salt, in a food processer and blend together until you have fine crumbs. Stir the honey into the melted butter, and slowly pour the mixture into the crumbs while running the food processer until you have a pasty consistency.
  • Dump the crumb mixture into the tarte pan, pressing to form a molded shell base for the lemon cream filling. Push the crumbs up the sides of the pan as well. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown and fairly set. Set aside to cool.

To Make the Filling, and finish the Tart

  • In a large saucepan, combine the heavy cream, zest, and honey, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for at least 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla. Cool the mixture for at least 20 minutes out of the pot.
  • When ready to assemble, fill the tarte pan with the prepared lemon cream, until you reach the top. YOU WILL HAVE EXTRA! Don't overfill. When done, chill in the refrigerator for several hours, up to overnight. Serve with fresh berries on top.

Notes

This recipe is adapted slightly from Tieghan Girard's "No Fuss Lemon Tart" on Half Baked Harvest.  My version is a larger volume and has a touch more salt in the crust.  
This recipe could work well for muffin tins to make individual tarts too!

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