Creamy Frozen Margarita Pie Slice with a Pretzel Crust

A boozy, refreshing and creamy no bake Frozen Margarita Pie Slice with a Pretzel crust, with perfectly balanced sweet, tart and salty flavors. A cocktail, a dessert and a summer fiesta in one glorious frozen margarita pie slice! And it’s deceptively easy to make too!

Welcome to the Summer edition of Freaky Friday! This is my fifth time, and it’s always a blast! 🙂 Freaky Friday is a blog hop organized by Michaela from An Affair From the Heart – where several food bloggers take part and each one is assigned another person’s blog (in secret) and they have to choose a recipe they like from that blog and recreate it, photograph it and then share it on their own blog on the same day (today!), at the same time!

I am super stoked to have been assigned the blog of one of my favorite people in the world for this edition of Freaky Friday – Jennifer from Take Two Tapas! 🙂

This lady makes the most drool-worthy and delectable tapas, cocktails and cheese boards that’ll make you cry happy tears. Her blog came to be because she believes in BIG flavors in small plates! You’ll know right away when you go through her amazing recipes that she’s a maven when it comes to entertaining and all the culinary options that go with it. She has a great series on party planning and delicious appetizers/tapas and cocktails, perfect for parties.

I spent an unearthly amount of time trying to decide which of her recipes that I wanted to recreate. The front runners were,

This glorious margarita dip

Coconut lime cheesecake 

Pan Con Tomate

Bacon brownies!

And awesome cocktails like this Cherry Bourbon Smash, Limencello Lady, Orange Jubilee and more!

But in the end, I just couldn’t resist her Margarita Bars –  this devilish combination of a margarita cocktail, with a pretzel shortbread crust and a creamy, tart lime filling! These flavors scream summer (and fall and winter and spring and day and night!). She made the creamiest lime bars, spiked with tequila, on a salted pretzel crust (genius), and I was inspired by it to make this delicious summer rendition – No bake Creamy Frozen Margarita Pie Slice with a Pretzel Crust! It’s like a delightfully creamy frozen lime pie, with a salted crust and a healthy dose of tequila. Bring on summer and 100°F+ days like today!

So why is this no bake frozen margarita pie slice so good?

• I made this frozen margarita pie with creamy lime curd, which is made from scratch and has just the right amount of sweetness while being deliciously tart. I control the sweetness by not adding condensed milk to the filling, so you end up with a glorious filling that is beautifully tart like a classic margarita!
• The curd is mixed with milk to add more creaminess – almost like this creamy and refreshing salted lime sherbet.
• A good dose of tequila makes this one addictive no bake boozy dessert.
• The buttery pretzel crumbs mixed with an extra dose of salt give these no bake frozen margarita pie slices an unapologetically delicious salty treatment, just the way you’d enjoy a classic margarita! HOWEVER, I also mixed the pretzel crumbs with butter to resemble the buttery shortbread base that Jen incorporated in her margarita bars!
• Unlike other margarita pies, this no bake frozen margarita pie slice has no sugar added to the crust. The lime filling is refreshingly tart with the perfect amount of sweetness, and the meringue topping adds more sweetness, so I didn’t want the crust to add any additional sweetness. Instead, I wanted the crust add a marked flavor and textural contrast with a buttery, crunchy, salty layer.

This no bake boozy dessert is all kinds of refreshing and delicious, but just be careful (or don’t), because the tequila creeps up on you! 🙂 Just don’t be overzealous and add more tequila though, because that can interfere with the freezing.

I actually made this recipe a few times, twice as popsicles, but the popsicles wouldn’t freeze properly with the amount of tequila I wanted in there. 🙂 I tried decreasing the amount of tequila, but where’s the fun in that?

What’s even more amazing about this creamy frozen margarita pie slice is how easy it is to make! First you crush the pretzel with salt and butter and press it into a loaf pan, then top with the creamy lime and tequila mix which only takes a few minutes to cook. Once frozen, you can enjoy this frozen margarita pie as is, or top with a pillowy soft meringue which adds another depth of flavor. It’s the perfect summery, boozy dessert for adults! And since it’s not too sweet, it makes for a light and refreshing way to finish off a lovely meal too.

If you do want to try making popsicles with this recipe, just reduce the amount of tequila and make the popsicles in small 3 oz disposable cups (so that you can make a small cut and peel off the cups for easy removal, like I do with these popsicles). Host the Toast also has a really fun idea on how to serve margarita popsicles!

This creamy frozen margarita pie slice with a pretzel crust is bound to keep you cool and buzzed all summer long. And may I suggest a classic margarita to pair with this boozy dessert? I mean it’s tequila on tequila – can’t go wrong with that. 😉

Salud!

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5 from 9 votes

Creamy Frozen Margarita Pie Slice with a Pretzel Crust

Author: Dini K.

Yield: 1 tart that is about 9 x 5 inches in size.

Cuisine: American, Mexican, North American

This creamy no bake Frozen Margarita Pie Slice with a Pretzel crust is a cocktail, a dessert, and a summer fiesta all in one delicious frozen margarita pie slice! A boozy and refreshing dessert with sweet, tart, and salty flavors.

INTERMEDIATE - This recipe has multiple components. So more prep time is required for each component.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.

Please note that there is an overnight freezing step in this recipe.

Prep: 1 hour 5 minutes

Chilling time: 10 hours

Cook: 25 minutes

Total Time: 11 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 10 servings

Print Rate

Ingredients:

Frozen Margarita Filling

• ▢ 240 mL lime juice 1 cup, about 10 limes (depending on their size)
• ▢ 2 tbsp lime zest
• ▢ 6 egg yolks
• ▢ 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch also known as cornflour
• ▢ 200 g white granulated sugar 1 cup
• ▢ 86 g unsalted butter 6 tbsp, softened to room temperature
• ▢ Pinch sea salt I like to use about ¼ tsp for a sweet and salty flavor
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla
• ▢ 80 mL tequila ⅓ cup. Use ½ cup / 120 mL for a boozier dessert, extra alcohol will also make the dessert freeze softer.
• ▢ 180 mL half and half ¾ cup

Pretzel Crust

• ▢ 198 g pretzels 7 oz
• ▢ ¾ tsp sea salt
• ▢ 57 g g melted unsalted butter use upto 86 g if needed ( 4 - 6 tbsp)

Meringue Topping

• ▢ 2 egg whites make sure there are no yolks in the egg whites
• ▢ 85 oz granulated white sugar 3 oz, caster sugar dissolves faster, but granulated sugar is ok too
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 tsp zest of lime

Instructions:

Margarita Filling

• Place the lime juice, zest, egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt in a saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat while whisking continuously until the butter melts. Whisk continuously to prevent the mix from curdling/scrambling. Make sure to stir at the bottom edges of the saucepan as well, so that the lime curd doesn’t catch the bottom.
  240 mL lime juice, 2 tbsp lime zest, 6 egg yolks, 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch, 200 g white granulated sugar, 86 g unsalted butter, Pinch sea salt, 1 tsp vanilla
• Heat the mixture until the curd thickens, and starts to come to a boil. The bubbles should break the surface. Cook for about 1 more minute while whisking continuously to make sure that the egg yolks don't curdle.
• Transfer the curd into a bowl. Cover the lime curd with plastic wrap (with the surface touching the plastic wrap), and let it cool down completely.
• Once cooled, the lime curd should be really thick and set. Remove the plastic wrap and whisk to make it smooth. Stir in tequila and half and half. Refrigerate the mix to chill.
  80 mL tequila, 180 mL half and half

Pretzel Crust

• Line a bread pan (loaf pan) with parchment paper (leaving some parchment paper hanging off the sides for easy removal). Set aside.
• Place the pretzels and salt in a food processor. Process until they resemble bread crumbs.
  198 g pretzels, ¾ tsp sea salt
• Pour the melted butter, and mix it in to the pretzel crumbs using a spatula or spoon. The mixture should stick together when squeezed.
  57 g g melted unsalted butter
• Press these crumbs into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Freeze the crust in the freezer until completely hardened.

Meringue Topping

• Place the egg whites, sugar and salt in a clean and dry (preferably metal) bowl. Bring some water to a simmer in a saucepan, and then place the metal bowl with the egg whites, over the simmering water. Whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved in the egg whites.
  2 egg whites, 85 oz granulated white sugar, Pinch of salt
• Once the sugar has completely dissolved, remove the bowl from the simmering water and using your hand mixer, whisk on high until you have thick glossy meringue with stiff peaks. Stir in lime zest. Use immediately.
  1 tsp zest of lime

Assembly

• Once the crust is frozen, pour the chilled margarita filling on top. Return to the freezer to let it completely harden (preferably overnight).
• When the frozen margarita pie has completely hardened, you can prepare the meringue. Top the margarita filling with the meringue, creating swirls and peaks with the back of a spoon. The margarita tart can now be stored in the freezer for a few hours with the meringue topping.
• Using a blow torch, caramelize the meringue just before serving. Slice the frozen margarita pie into slices (use a warm knife for clean, neat cuts). Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

Note - If you have a super cold freezer (like mine), it's ok to add 1/2 cup of tequila. However, if your freezer isn't very cold, I would suggest adding 1/3 of a cup. Remember that this is relatively soft and melts easily because of the extra tequila!

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 1280kcal (64%)Carbohydrates: 281g (94%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 17g (26%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 155mg (52%)Sodium: 453mg (20%)Potassium: 111mg (3%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 262g (291%)Vitamin A: 589IU (12%)Vitamin C: 8mg (10%)Calcium: 47mg (5%)Iron: 2mg (11%)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

Course:Baked Desserts, Dessert, Desserts, Frozen Desserts, Tarts

Cuisine:American, Mexican, North American

Keyword:Citrus, Citrus recipes, Frozen tart, Lime, Lime tart, Margarita, Pretzel, Tequila

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