Lemon Olive Oil Tart with Fennel Pollen Cream

These are the flavors I want at the end of a summer day – bright lemon curd, a dash of earthy olive oil, and a hint of fennel pollen. Eating this Lemon Olive Oil Tart feels like dining in the Mediterranean. With a healthy glug of olive oil in both the lemon curd and tart crust, this dessert is a classic with a fun twist.

Recipe highlights

• Bright & refreshing. Tart, bright flavors are the highlight of this dish.
• All the textures. Thick custardy lemon curd, crunchy olive oil tart crust, and soft-as-a-cloud fennel pollen whipped cream.
• Minimal oven time. The only baking needed is for the tart crust, which will be out of the oven in about 20 minutes. Ideal for keeping the house cool on hot days.

Gathering fennel pollen

Fennel, whether wild or cultivated, develops large umbel-shaped clusters of flowers in the early summer. These tiny flowers are covered in bright yellow pollen that tastes subtly like fresh fennel, with a light licorice aftertaste. I’ve never been much of a fennel or licorice fan, but I love the flavor of this pollen!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, wild fennel grows abundantly through both cities and rural areas. You’ll find it in abandoned gardens, meadows, community gardens, and along roadsides and highways. Of course, I don’t recommend you harvest the plants growing along heavily trafficked roads or sprayed areas! 

If you grow fennel in your own garden, I highly recommend you let some of the plants flower so you can try fennel pollen for yourself.

To gather fennel pollen, snip a few umbels from the plants. Roll the fennel flowers in between your fingers to help release the pollen.

Tart crust tips

Use a tart pan with a removable bottom. This will be the easiest way to ensure you can slice and serve the final tart gracefully.

Add water a little at a time. You may not need to use all of the water for the crust. Start by adding about half of the amount in the recipe. Mix this into the dry ingredients and then add more water, a tablespoon or so at a time, until the mix almost comes together. Finish by kneading the dough together with your hands. You don’t want the mixture to be too wet.

Let it chill. After mixing the dough, wrap it up and let it chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This resting time is crucial!

Roll it to about ¼ inch thick. You want the crust thick enough to hold up to the moist lemon filling, but not so thick that it’s unpleasant to bite into.

Chill again. After rolling the tart dough out and placing it in the tart pan, it needs to chill again. Set it in the refrigerator until it feels solid and cold, at least another 30 minutes.

Use pie weights or beans. Placing these on top of parchment over the tart crust helps the dough to stay in place while baking.

Bake thoroughly. The tart isn’t going back in the oven once the curd is in, so make sure the crust is totally cooked! After an initial 15 minutes of baking with weights on top, remove the weights and continue to bake until the crust is fully baked. Poking the crust all over with a fork helps to make sure the crust doesn’t rise during this final bake.

For more tips on making the perfect tart crust, check out my notes for this citrus tart crust.

Lemon olive oil curd tips

Don’t cook over direct heat. I never make my curd directly on the stove. It’s much gentler to cook curd in a double boiler. You can set up a makeshift double boiler by placing a stainless steel mixing bowl on top of a sauce pot filled with an inch or two of simmering water. The bowl should not be touching the water.

Keep an eye on it. Whisk the curd frequently while it cooks and watch it closely. Once curd starts to thicken, it can happen pretty quickly! The mixture should be able to coat the back of a spoon when it’s thick enough.

Add butter and olive oil last. Don’t add these until the mixture is cooked and off the heat!

Strain. For the best silky-smooth texture and to ensure no lumps, strain the lemon olive oil curd through a fine mesh sieve. 

Chill thoroughly. Let the curd cool completely before spreading it into the tart crust.

Variations & substitutions

Tart crust. Swap the olive oil tart crust for a delicious citrus shortbread tart crust or brown butter crust.

Lemon olive oil curd. Try this curd with fresh orange juice instead of lemon juice (but reduce sugar to ¼ cup as oranges are sweeter). Or, you could replace the curd with grapefruit curd, mango curd, or any other flavor you love.

Fennel pollen. If you don’t have access to fennel pollen, try fresh basil instead. It has a similar licorice-y flavor that would be delightful with the lemon and olive oil! Chop up about a tablespoon of fresh basil leaves very finely. Mix these with the sugar for the whipped cream in place of the fennel pollen.

Other alternative ways you could flavor the whipped cream:

• Rub lemon/orange/lime zest in with the sugar
• Add vanilla extract
• Use lilac sugar, fir tip sugar, or dandelion sugar in place of the regular sugar