Lemon Tart – Pretty, Simple & Sweet Summer Dessert

Lemon tart lovers, here is something wickedly delicious for you.

A perfect graham cracker crust, soft and crunchy at the same time, covered with not-too-sweet or bitter lemon custard. Heaven for your senses and palate.

With the abundant fresh lemons that my wonderful friends always give me, I was so excited to make this Lemon Tart.

As you can see from the recipe, there is nothing to it.

 There are two steps to this tart: The graham cracker crust and the lemon filling. 

Both are super easy to prepare. 

In this Article

What is Graham Crackers made of?

A graham cracker is a sweet-flavored cracker made of graham flour that originated in the United States in the mid-19th century.

A combination of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract gives it that distinct signature flavor. 

It can be enjoyed as a snack or in a recipe. Makes the best crust for custard pies. 

I prefer to use my food processor to make crumbs from graham crackers. A personal choice, of course.

Your local grocery store may already have the graham crumbs in the baking aisle, which would work perfectly too.

A quick note about the sweetened condensed milk

You cannot replace sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk.

They are not identical and cannot be used interchangeably in baking.

Even though they are both concentrated from milk products and have 60 percent of the water removed, the evaporated milk has no sweets added.

Enjoy this lemon tart with condensed milk.

Cooking tips and step-by-step instructions to create this excellent Lemon Tart

You can find the printable recipe with all the correct amounts at the bottom of this post.  

• Use fresh lemons juice. The already squeezed for you at the store is not the same.
• The maple syrup with the regular sugar and the melted butter creates a delightful crust that will withstand the liquid poured over.
• When you are ready to fill the 10-inch cast iron, ensure that the bottom crust is even and that the corners between the bottom and the sides of the skillet are the same thickness.  I made the mistake of not evenly distributing it, which was harder to cut.
• No need to have the crust brought up to the top of the skillet too. The custard will not rise; thus no concern of spilling over it.
• And yes, you will use the whole tablespoon of butter to grease the skillet. You do not want to miss this step or put less.  You will need that extra protection to prevent burning and sticking to the skillet when making a huge slice.
• Aluminum foil with weights or uncooked rice to part bakes the crust. Let it rest and cool off before filling it with custard. I always use weights.
• Let the crust cool off before adding the filling. 
• Combine all the ingredients and add them to the crust. 
• The thin lemon slices are for decoration. Have fun with it and create your design.

Once out of the oven, let it rest, as it will solidify and not burn you, as the custard is pretty hot.

Substitutions

Graham crackers can be substituted with crispy cookies, ice cream cones, pretzels, cereal, and even coconut macaroons. 

You can also replace the lemon juice with lime juice to make Lime Tart. Better yet, Key limes and you will never be the same.

Storage instructions

You can leave it at room temperature if it is not too hot in your room. Place in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap when completely cooled off. 

Equipment and Products that I recommend and use to prepare this fabulous recipe. 

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Originally published on May 4, 2021. Updated on February 9, 2023.