Vegan Lemon Tarts – Easy, No Bake & Ultra Tangy!

In my early 20’s I was obsessed with a little French Patisserie near my work. I would find any excuse to pass by & pick up one of their lemon tarts. They were divine, but far from healthy. Fast forward to today & I still love that lemony tang in a dessert, but I want a healthier version. So I came up with this easy recipe for vegan lemon tarts. Originally I made them with a pastry shell because I love making pastry. At one point in my life I wanted to be a pastry chef, but let’s face it, pastry can be fiddly & time-consuming. So I remade these vegan lemon tarts with a raw base. Seriously they take no time at all, easy peasy – lemon squeezy!

My lemon tree hasn’t been doing too well this winter, producing hardly any fruit. Lucky for me I have these beautiful lemons from my mother in laws tree. This is my third delivery of a massive basket of them. I’m not sure what variety they are but the colour is amazing, almost verging on orange. They also have a sweeter flavour than regular lemons and are super juicy! The branches are spiky like a Lisbon, but they look like a Meyer… possibly a hybrid? I’m not sure. So just be aware when you’re making this, there are different lemon varieties, so you will want to taste the filling while you are making it. Feel free to add more sweetener if you think it needs it.

The magic of being able to make these wonderful vegan lemon tarts set without eggs is thanks to my secret ingredient – agar agar. A natural gelatine obtained from algae, making it vegetarian & vegan friendly. It has no colour or flavour and is often added to jelly, custard, even jam. Much stronger plant gelatin it sets firmer than animal-derived gelatin, so a little goes a long way. Keep your eyes peeled for more recipes to use up my supply of agar agar. I’m thinking a kid-friendly jelly & an adult boozy jelly might be coming to the blog soon.

Hope you like the recipe & please tag me if you make it,
Tina xxx