This lemon ricotta tart consists of a creamy no-bake ricotta cheesecake on a crisp shortbread crust. Top the tart with fresh berries and an easy glaze for a show-stopping dessert.

We used strawberries and blueberries in the photos to create a beautiful design that makes a festive 4th of July tart.

Sliced strawberries arranged in a star-like flower pattern on a tart.

The red, white, and blue colors from the fruit and ricotta filling are perfect for a Fourth of July dessert but don’t limit yourself. The creamy ricotta cheesecake filling goes with any seasonal fruit. Sliced peaches, plums, and mangoes are a few suggestions.

And if you love ricotta as much as we do, you will love our lemon ricotta cookies and ricotta cake. If you want a healthier dessert, try our strawberries with ricotta or our baked pears. You can even use ricotta in savory recipes like our tomato ricotta tart or artichoke gratin.

Here is Why This Recipe Works

The shortbread crust is an easy, press-in cookie crust. You can pre-bake the crust a day or two in advance. If you prefer, you can make a graham cracker crust.
Ricotta, cream cheese, and lemon make a delicious combination for a creamy, rich filling that compliments almost any fruit.
The no-bake filling is easy to throw together. All you need is a little patience for the filling to set up.
Choosing red and blue fruit to contrast with the white filling makes the tart perfect for serving as a 4th of July dessert.
You can change the flavor and design by using different fruit to slice on top of the tart.

A slice of fruit tart showing the red, white, and blue colors from the fruit and cream filling.

The Ingredients

Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this sweet ricotta tart. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.

Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter. The small amount of salt in salted butter will not overwhelm the cookie crust.
Sugar. Use powdered sugar in the crust and granulated sugar in the filling.
Salt. I add salt even if I use salted butter. It makes a better shortbread pastry.
Flour. All-purpose flour gets used in the shortbread crust.
Cream cheese. Purchase the cream cheese that comes in blocks. The spreadable, tub-style cream cheese is too soft and contains water.
Ricotta cheese. Some ricotta cheese is more grainy than others. For the creamiest ricotta, make sure it does not have guar gum or xanthan gum added.
Lemon. The recipe uses both lemon zest and lemon juice.
Gelatin powder. You can buy gelatin powder in individual packets or larger containers.
Fresh fruit. We used strawberries and blueberries in the photos and arranged the strawberries in a starry flower pattern.
Apricot preserves. The preserves make an easy glaze for the top of the fruit.
Water or liqueur. We used water or liqueur to thin the preserves and make it easy to glaze the top of the fruit.

How to Make It

Here is a brief overview to get an idea of what to expect with our lemon ricotta tart recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.

Make the shortbread crust and let it cool.
Mix the ricotta cheesecake filling and pour it into the crust.
Let the tart set up in the refrigerator until it is firm.
Top with fruit and coat the fruit with a glaze.

If you want to decorate the tart to look like the one in the photos, here are the steps:

First, wash and slice the strawberries. We sliced them from top to bottom so they were pointy instead of round. Pointed slices will give it a star-like flower design and round slices will make it look more like a rose.

Lay the largest slices around the perimeter of the tart. Continue with a second row, overlapping the first row.

Slices of strawberries fanned out on a tart.

Continue laying the slices around the tart, overlapping them as you go. You can fill the tart completely with strawberries or save room in the center for blueberries to give the tart patriotic colors.

Tip: Start with the larger slices around the outside. As you move closer toward the center, select the smaller slices.

Make the glaze and coat the top of the berries with a pastry brush. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

A fruit tart decorated with red strawberries, blueberries, and white flowers.

If you want to add flowers, add them just before serving.

More Chilled or Frozen Desserts

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Tips for Success

Let the cream cheese sit out at room temperature so it gets soft. Cold cream cheese is difficult to get smooth and will leave lumps in the cheesecake.
When you pour the filling into the crust, it will fill it all the way to the top. If your tart pan is slightly smaller than 10-inches you will have leftover filling. You can pour leftover filling into ramekins.
If you have a tart pan with a removable bottom, place it on a sheet to transfer it (otherwise, the bottom may separate from the ring).
The filling will appear runny when you finish mixing it. It will set up when it chills for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).
You can make the tart 2 to 3 days in advance if you do not add the sliced fruit.
If you add the sliced fruit too far in advance, it will start to weep juices. Try not to add the fruit until 4 hours before serving the tart.
If you want to add fresh flowers as we did in the photos, add them when it is time to serve the tart. You could also serve the tart with whipped cream.

A fruit tart with sliced strawberries and blueberries on top.

This lemon ricotta tart is perfect as a 4th of July dessert if you top it with red and blue berries! However, it is great any time of the year with other seasonal fruit.

In the winter, you can top it with clementines and pomegranate seeds. In the fall, try pears and persimmons. Whatever you choose, it does best with soft and easy-to-slice fruit.

A cross section of a tart showing the white ricotta cream filling.

Some More Recipes You Will Love:

These sourdough ricotta pancakes have a rich, creamy texture from the ricotta cheese and an extra special flavor from the sourdough starter.

Our orange ricotta pancakes have

Our orange ricotta pancakes are packed with orange flavor thanks to orange zest and concentrated orange juice.

A creamy truffle-like filling, gooey caramel sauce, and a rich ganache topping make this chocolate caramel tart a truly indulgent dessert.

Our pine nut tart has a rich, buttery flavor. It is sweetened with honey and has a touch of rosemary.

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Lemon Ricotta Tart

This lemon ricotta tart consists of a creamy no-bake ricotta cheesecake on a crisp shortbread crust. Top the tart with fresh berries and an easy glaze for a show-stopping dessert.

In the photos, we used strawberries and blueberries which creates a beautiful design that makes a festive 4th of July tart. It also tastes great with sliced peaches or plums arranged on top.

4.82 from 11 votes

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Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 20

Additional Time: 6

Total Time: 6 50

Servings: servings

Calories: 439kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Crust:

¾ cup 12 tablespoons butter, softened
⅓ cup powdered/confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
1-½ cups all-purpose flour

For the Filling:

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups ricotta cheese
zest from 1 lemon
1 package Knox gelatin powder 2-1/2 teaspoons
¼ cup cold water
½ cup lemon juice
2 pounds fresh strawberries**
1 cup fresh blueberries**

For the Glaze

1 cup apricot preserves
2 to 4 tablespoons water or Grand Marnier*

Instructions

For the Crust

Preheat the oven to 400°F
Cream the butter with an electric mixer. Mix in the sugar, lemon zest, and salt followed by the flour. Beat to combine. The dough will appear dry and crumbly at first but will start to come together in a clump.
Turn the mixture into a 10” tart pan. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture up the sides first and then smooth it out evenly over the bottom, pressing down slightly. You can use plastic wrap to make it easier to push the dough into the pan. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and use a flat-bottomed measuring cup to press the dough.
Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights, or dry beans.
Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights then bake for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown.
If the edges start to brown too much before the bottom of the crust is brown, cover the edges with aluminum foil or a pie shield. Cool for 10 minutes before adding the filling.

For the Ricotta Cheesecake Filling:

In a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese and sugar and beat together until well incorporated and smooth. Stop the motor and add the ricotta cheese and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute to combine.
In a small bowl dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup of cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it absorbs all the water and looks spongy.
Place the lemon juice in the microwave and zap it until it is steaming hot (my microwave took 45 seconds). Stir the lemon juice into the gelatin mixture until it is syrupy and lump-free. Let the lemony gelatin mixture sit until it cools down to room temperature.
Add the cooled gelatin mixture to the cheese mixture and beat together to combine.
Pour the cheese filling into the baked, cooled crust and smooth the top. Transfer the tart to the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight to firm up.
Arrange the fruit on top of the tart. To get the star-like design with the strawberries, slice the strawberries thinly then lay the slices around the perimeter of the tart. Continue to overlap them in a circular pattern, working toward the center. Pile blueberries in the center if you want a red, white and blue tart.
To make the glaze, place the preserves in a saucepan and heat it over medium heat until it loosens up. Gradually stir in the water or liqueor until it is thin enough to drizzle off a spoon. Use a pastry brush to coat the top of the fruit with the glaze.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. We added small white flowers to the top just before serving.

Notes

You can use any fresh fruit to top the tart. Some other options are raspberries, blackberries, peaches, mangoes, and plums.

Use the block style of cream cheese (not the kind that comes in a tub).

Let the cream cheese sit out at room temperature to get soft. Cold cream cheese will not blend well and cause lumps in the cheesecake batter.

Ricotta cheese can vary in texture from brand to brand. Look at the ingredient list. The best ricotta only has whey, milk (or cream), salt, and an acid such as vinegar. If it contains other additives, it tends to be grainy.

You can use any liqueur of choice in place of the water in the glaze. Some other options are St. Germain, Cointreau, and Chambord.
When you pour the filling into the crust, it will fill the tart all the way to the top. If you use a smaller tart pan, you will have some leftover filling that you can pour into ramekins.
Place the tart pan on a larger sheet pan to transfer it to the oven and refrigerator. The tart pan has a removable bottom that can slip away from the outer ring if you hold it on the bottom. The sheet pan makes it easier to transfer it.