Lemon is the quintessential summer fruit, right? Citrus-y, refreshing, and delicious, lemon makes for a great summer dessert.
I first saw this recipe a few weeks ago at Let’s Dish and it quickly made my “Friday Favorite Finds” pinboard over on Pinterest. With all the heat and humidity we’ve been having over the past week {seriously, we broke a dew-point record… 82 degree dewpoint = gross}, this was the perfect time to try out this dessert. Plus, we were having friends from our Bible study over for a BBQ in said heat.
And, you know, it’s always a great idea to try out new recipes on other people.
What I loved about this recipes was that the ingredients were simple and it looked easy enough to put together. Scanning the directions, though, I knew there would be a few changes.
1) Eliminate raw egg whites. This seemed unnecessary from my perspective, so I eliminated it.
2) Reduce and/or eliminate the number of eggs. I reduced the number of eggs by 1 in this recipe when I made it, but during the process I realized I could have eliminated the egg entirely. Therefore, the recipe below has cornstarch as the thickener and no egg at all.
3) Reduce the sugar. I did reduce the sugar … hence the name, lemon tart! I thought the dessert had the perfect amount of zip with the ingredients listed below, but if you’d like it sweeter {like lemonade}, add more sugar to the whipped cream.
The result: We all loved it.
I took Let’s Dish’s advice and doubled the recipe, so my photos reflect that. However, the ingredient list is for one 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.
Frozen Lemon Tart – Adapted from Let’s Dish
Ingredients
- 3/4 C crushed graham crackers
- 3 T butter, melted
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/3 C lemon juice
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 T corn starch
- 1 C heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 C powdered sugar
Directions
Begin by crushing the graham crackers using a food processor. Or, place the crackers in a bag and go at them with a rolling pin. When crushed, add the melted butter.
Stir together until clumps form. Then, press the crumbs into a lightly greased 9x9 or 8x8 inch glass baking dish {a pie plate would also work}. Reserve 1-2 T for garnish.
Meanwhile, mix together 1/2 C sugar and corn starch along with the lemon juice in a large saucepan.
Slowly heat the mixture until it boils and begins to thicken. When slightly thick, remove the mixture from the heat.
Add in the lemon zest and stir.
Then allow the lemon sauce to cool to room temperature or colder. Feel free to set it in the fridge to aid the cooling. If you do, cover it to avoid the film that will form.
Meanwhile, whip the whipping cream together with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
When the lemon mixture is cooled, gently fold the lemon into the whipped cream until you have lemon whipped cream!
Then, carefully plop the whipped cream mixture over the graham cracker crumb crust. Use a spatula to gently smooth out the cream layer.
Garnish with remaining graham cracker crumbs.
Cover and freeze for 6+ hours, or overnight, until ready to serve.
Remove from the freezer about 5-10 minutes before serving.
This dessert is quite rich and delicious – so enjoy! Think about sprinkling yummy fresh berries over the top when you serve the slices. Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries would all be excellent.
This recipe is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday(2) , Totally Tasty Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Ingredient Spotlight, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Mangia Monday
