Try out this scrumptious recipe for six individual Lemon Meringue tarts!
Dough:
- 125g plain flour
- 50 g of unsalted butter
- 60 g icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 10 g salt
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease 6 single 9cm tart rings (or a 20 cm single tart ring).
To make the pastry, place the flour, butter and icing sugar into a food processor. Pulse briefly until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg yolk and salt. Mix to combine.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into 6 individual rings using the tart rings as a guide. The pastry circles should be 1cm larger all around than the tart rings to allow for them to go up the sides of the tart rings.
Line an oven tray with a piece of parchment paper and place your tart rings on top. Place the pastry discs in the centre of the rings and flatten them on the bottom so that they make a neat base for the tart. Push the edges neatly against the sides of the tart rings.
If making one big tart, then grease the tart base and sides and place the rolled out pastry on it and ensure that the pastry comes up the sides of the tin.
Fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 10 minutes, until the pastry is set. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the filling.
Tangy Lemon Cream Filling:
- 120 g sugar
- 80 g lemon juice (2 large lemons)
- Zest of 2 lemons (unwaxed)
- 1 large egg
- 150 g unsalted butter, diced
In a Bain Marie, combine sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and egg until it reach 82 C on a sugar thermometer (or cook till the mixture just begins to simmer if you don’t have a thermometer). Stir to mix and add butter in small quantities. Leave the cream cool and place it in the fridge for 3 hours to rest.
Meringue:
- Egg white of one egg
- 60 g caster sugar
- 60 g icing sugar
Put the egg white and caster sugar into a very clean bowl and beat using an electric beater until well mixed. Then add the icing sugar and blend for 5 minutes until the meringue looks shiny and smooth.
Putting the tart together:
Fill your pastry to the top with the lemon cream. Remove your lemon cream from the fridge. As it will have set in the fridge, gently stir it for about 1 to 2 minutes to make it runny again and easy to shape in the pastry. Finally, top your tart with your meringue using a pastry bag and your favourite piping nozzle. With a blow torch gently burn your meringue to give it a rustic look…. Then enjoy!!!
