This easy Key Lime Tart has a sweet vanilla wafer crust, a tart key lime filling and it’s topped with swirls of whipped cream and sprinkled with lime zest! This dessert is light and perfect for spring!
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RECIPE LINK IS BELOW AND HAS A PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BUT BLOG POST IS FULL OF “HOW TO MAKE IT”, TIPS, INFORMATION AND FAQ
If you’re craving a bit of spring or a vacation to the Florida Keys, this Key Lime Tart is exactly what you need! It’s super simple to put together and bursting with key lime flavor!
Quick Glance of What you need for Key Lime Tart: (amounts in recipe)
- vanilla wafer cookies, crushed into fine crumbs
- butter, melted
- Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- egg yolks
- sweetened condensed milk
- key lime juice
- lime zest
- Crème Chantilly/whipped cream
How to make Key Lime Tart:
Vanilla Wafer Tart Crust
The first step to making this fantastic Key Lime Tart is to make the crust.
Most of the time, you’ll find pie and tart crusts made from graham crackers and melted butter. There is nothing wrong with that but since this is a key lime recipe, which means it is going to be tart, I really wanted the crust to be a bit sweeter than the average tart crust.
That is why I like to make a vanilla wafer cookie crust for this tart. Vanilla wafers, melted butter and sugar combined together makes the perfect tart crust!
Here are some tips for making a vanilla wafer tart crust:
- once mixed, the crumbs, butter and sugar mixture should have the consistency of wet sand.
- make sure to really press the crumbs mixture into the pie dish with some force, you want this crust to be as compact as possible.
- Bake the shell in a preheat oven to 350F for 10 minutes. Also, make sure to cool it before adding the filling.
- This recipe is for a 9 inch round tart dish (or pie dish)
Key Lime Tart Filling
The filling for this tart is super easy to make! A few egg yolks, lime zest, sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice gets a little mixy mixy in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a regular bowl with a hand mixer) and it’s ready to go!
Just pour it into the crust and bake in a preheat oven to 350F for 10 minutes. Once done, remove and let cool for 15-30 minutes and then pop it into the fridge for 8 hours or overnight!
The Key Lime Juice:
We don’t have key limes around here. The closest store I’ve found them at is about 2 hours away from us. Our stores do carry limes, and you juice regular limes for a key lime tart but then it’s really just a lime tart.
So, when I can’t get my hands on real key limes to juice for tarts and pies, I use bottled key lime juice. Now, listen, it’s NOT the lime juice in the little green bottle that looks like a lime. No, don’t use that stuff. This is actual key lime juice and the one I use is called Nellie & Joes: Key West Lime Juice and it’s great for all types of key lime desserts.
Crème Chantilly/Whipped Cream Topping:
A homemade whipped cream topping is made by combing whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whipping it until it’s stiff and pipeable.
Once the tart is ready to serve, pipe or dollop the topping onto the tart and garnish with lime zest and/or lime slices.
QUICK GLANCE Key Lime Tart FAQ:
- What is the difference in a lime and a key lime? Key limes are smaller, tarter and smell stronger than regular limes. Also, key limes come from the Florida Keys!
- How long does a Key Lime Tart bake? 10 minutes!
- Can the crust be made with graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers? Yep!
- Can this tart recipe be made in a pie dish? It sure can! A 9 inch pie dish will work if you can’t find a tart pan.
Key Lime Tart
I MADE THIS RECIPE FOR DIXIE CRYSTALS AND THEY’VE GOT THE ENTIRE RECIPE POSTED ON THEIR SITE.
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This is so yummy!! I made it and also added a few drops of the key lime juice into the whipped topping. Now mine didn’t turn out as gorgeous as yours but I tried and within 2 days of cutting into it there is now 1 slice left.
Oh my gosh! I love the idea of adding key lime juice to the whipped topping! What a fantastic idea. I’m so glad that y’all liked it. <3