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Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts

Little meringue tarts boasts of big flavor thanks to the lemon curd-based filling.
Author Melissa Hiatt - http://www.makingitsweet.com

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Crust

  • 2 c flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup Confectioner's Sugar
  • 1 cup of cold unsalted butter cubed (2 sticks)

For the Lemon Curd Filling

  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • lemon zest use whatever you can get from your lemons
  • 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick

For the Meringue

  • 5 large egg whites room temperature
  • 1-1/4 cup superfine sugar
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar

Special Tools

  • Mini tart or cupcake pans french piping tip, piping bag, handheld blow torch

Instructions

Shortbread Crust

  1. In a food processor, place flour, salt, and confectioner's sugar and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until it becomes a coarse meal and starts to come together. Put one heaping teaspoon of dough in a mini tart pan or mini cupcake pan and press along the sides. Prick dough with a skewer or tooth pick then place in the freezer while the oven is preheating.
  2. Preheat oven to 425°F then bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are brown. Cool on a baking rack.

Lemon Curd Filling

  1. Fill a small pot with 1 inch of water and simmer. In a non-reactive bowl (that fits over the pot), whisk together yolks, sugar until combined. Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice then add to the yolk and sugar mixture. Place bowl over the pot and whisk until thickened. Once thickened, remove from heat and whisk in lemon zest and butter, one pat at a time, until it's combined with the filling.

Meringue

  1. Whisk together egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar over a double boiler until the sugar is dissolved (if using a candy thermometer, it would read around 155°F-160°F). Using a whisk attachment on a stand mixer, beat on med-high until stiff peaks form.
  2. Fit a piping bag with french tip and fill it with the meringue.

Assembly

  1. Fill lemon filling level with the tart.
  2. Starting from the outside and moving towards the center, swirl meringue on top of tart, making sure to fill over the edge of the crust (so it won't slide off).
  3. Brown tops of meringue using a handheld blow torch.

Recipe Notes

Waste not! You'll probably have extra meringue. Use them to make meringue cookies - You can spoon or pipe it onto parchment or a silicone mat and bake at 200°F for two hours.