Nailed It! Key Lime Tarts (2024)

For week #2 of my Nailed It or Failed It blog series, I’m declaring“Nailed It" on this Key Lime Tart recipe. These Key Lime Tarts feature a buttery crust filled with a Key Lime filling that is just the right amount of tart and sweet. These mini Key Lime Tarts are the perfect dessert for a warm, sunny day.

For this series I recreate recipes from the Bachour cookbook. You can find the rest of the Nailed It series here. I made a few changes to this Key Lime Tart recipe to keep it accessible for an everyday home cook using equipment you have in your kitchen.

Key Lime Tarts

This is a really simple mini Key Lime Tart recipe. Majority of your time will be spent letting the tarts cool. You could easily whip up these tarts in the early afternoon and they would be ready to go for dinner that night.

My favorite thing about these Key Lime Tarts is the size! The mini Key Lime Tart is an easy, pre-portioned dessert choice for people wanting a light, but sweet and tasty dessert without going overboard. P.S. No judgement here if you have more than one! I know one wouldn’t be enough for me.

If you’re looking for a dessert that will fill your taste buds with delight and surprise, then this Key Lime Tart Recipe is perfect. It tastes like sunshine in every bite! Enjoy!

Why You Will Love These Key Lime Tarts

• Quick and simple to make.
• Buttery, sweet with just the right amount of tartness.
• Cool and refreshing.
• Perfect dessert for summer.

Ingredients

• Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Eggs
• Almonds
• Salt
• All Purpose Flour
• Cake Flour
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Key Lime Juice

Two Parts to Key Lime Tarts

1. Crust: Buttery crust, with a bit of crisp texture. This crust is very easy to make and the almond flavor really shines through in this key lime tart.
2. Key Lime Filling: The Key Lime filling is tart, sweet and creamy. The way a filling should be! The combination of egg yolks and condensed milk make this filling so sweet and creamy. For the best flavor use fresh lime juice, not bottled juice.

How to Make Key Lime Tarts

First, make the almond tart dough.

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, in a bowl cream the butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.
3. Slowly add 1 ½ eggs in and continue to mix.
4. Add ground almonds, salt and all-purpose flour until combined.
5. Add cake flour and mix until smooth.
6. Roll dough into ⅛ inch thickness, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
7. Butter 12 small tart molds and cut dough to fit.
8. Line and trim the molds and chill for an additional 30 minutes.
9. Before baking, fill your tarts with pie weights to keep the pastry from puffing up in the oven.
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Next, make the Key Lime filling.

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix condensed milk and egg on low speed until blended and smooth.
3. Add lime juice and continue to blend until smooth.
4. Pour mixture evenly into the prepared tart shell.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly jiggly in the center.
6. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before garnishing.

Garnish the tarts.

1. Top each tart with fresh raspberries and brush with simple syrup.

Making the Tart

I used a small silicone 3″ tart mold for these instead of a ring mold.

Decorating the Tart

The original recipe called for a brush of Valrhona Cristal Absolute neutral glaze for the raspberries. I went with a simple syrup for a lower cost option. One could easily add a small amount of liquor to the simple syrup if they were wanting that flavor.Don’t have any raspberries on hand? You can also garnish with a few small key limes slices and some lime zest! Add a dollop of whipped cream too.

FAQ

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Here are a few of our favorite citrus flavored recipes:

• Key Lime Verrine
• Best Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
• Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake

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