I know not everyone likes salt-and-sweet desserts, but personally to me this is one of the most delicious combinations there is. No matter what is the recipe – salt simply upgrades the dessert so much. It emphasizes flavors and balances the sweetness in desserts.
This next tart combines sweet and salty in a very simple way: salted honey tart. A buttery crispy short crust pastry filled with salted honey filling. The tart is very tasty on its own, but when I want to upgrade it a bit, I like to serve it with a mound of soft unsweetened whipped cream or Greek yogurt. This combination of sweet-salty-sour creates a dessert that is simply irresistible.
Looking for more desserts with honey? Try these: the perfect honey cake | homemade baklava | honey cake with chocolate Ferrero Rocher frosting | tahini honey cake with sesame streusel

Salted Honey Tart | Photo: Natalie Levin

Such great flavors combo | Photo: Natalie Levin

Salted Honey Tart | Photo: Natalie Levin
Salted Honey Tart
- 24 cm round tart pan
For the short crust pastry:
- 150 grams 1 cup + 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour ((see notes for gluten free version))
- 100 grams cold butter (cut into cubes)
- 40 grams 4 tbsp. powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water (as needed)
For salted honey filling:
- 75 grams butter
- 120 grams 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
- 135 grams 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. honey
- ½ a teaspoon of salt
- 15 grams 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 80 ml 1/3 cup whipping cream 38% fat
- 5 ml. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For serving:
- Unsweetened whipped cream or Greek yogurt
- A little honey
Short crust pastry:
- In a food processor with a steel blade place flour, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and blend until a crumbly mixture is obtained.
- Add egg yolk and continue to blend just until large chunks of dough form. If the dough does not come together into large chunks – gradually add a little water.
- Transfer the chunks of dough to a lightly floured work surface, combine with your hands and form a disc shape.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough about 3-4 mm thick and line the baking pan. It is important to make sure that a 90 degrees angle is created between the sides and the base of the tart, which will ensure that the edges remain high.
- Prick the base of the crust with a fork.
- Freeze the crust for about an hour.
Blind baking:
- Preheat oven to 170 Celsius degrees.
- Wrinkle baking paper, spread out again and arrange it on top of the frozen crust.
- Fill the paper with dry beans or special baking weights.
- Bake this way for 12-15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the paper and beans and continue to bake for another 5-6 minutes until the crust begins to get a light golden hue.
- Cool to room temperature.
Salted honey filling:
- Melt the butter and place in a mixing bowl.
- Add sugar, honey, salt, cornstarch, egg, egg yolks, vanilla, cream and lemon juice and stir well until a smooth, uniform mixture is obtained.
- Pour the honey filling over the half-baked crust.
- Return to continue baking at 170 degrees Celsius (no fan!) for about 20-30 minutes or until the filling gets a deep golden hue, sets around the edges but is still slightly soft in the center.
- Cool completely to room temperature.
- Serve with soft whipped cream or yogurt and drizzle some honey.
- The tart is kept in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- It is highly recommended to serve the tart when it is at room temperature and not too cold.
- The tart can also be served with vanilla ice cream.
- If you like really salty desserts – you can increase the amount of salt in the filling to one teaspoon.
- Gluten-free version: Use glute free flour mix in the same amount instead of all-purpose flour.

Perfect Fall dessert | Photo: Natalie Levin

Salted Honey Tart | Photo: Natalie Levin