Lemon Meringue Tart
The recipe is split into 3 parts: Crust, Meringue, Filling…so make each in that order.
- Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
- Total Time: 105 minutes
- Yield: 1 tart 1x
- Category: Pie
The Shortbread Crust:
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup butter (cut into chunks)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 large tart pan
The Meringue
- 3 tsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- 4 egg whites
- pinch of cream of tartar
- 8 tbsp berry sugar (or superfine sugar)
The Filling
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- pinch salt
- 1 cup water
- zest from 4 lemons (you can use 3 but 4 makes it extra lemon-y)
- juice from 3 lemons
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 egg yolks (beaten)
The Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, process the flour, sugar and salt for about 10 seconds.
- Then add the chunks of butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and process again until the egg is thoroughly combined.
- Press the mixture into a 10 inch tart pan (making the sides slightly higher than the centre because the lemon filling needs somewhere to sit).
- Refrigerate for at least 25 minutes. Or you can put it into the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Then bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until the crust is slightly browned. Make sure to prick the tart with a fork several times while baking, and watch it carefully.
- Cool.
- Remove from tart pan. Make sure to put your crust onto an oven-proof serving plate. Set aside.
- Now on to the meringue.
The Meringue:
- Now that your crust is done and set off to the side, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- In a sauce pan set to med-high heat, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Whisk until the mixture is thick and clear.
- Set aside. Cool.
- In a mixer beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Then add sugar one tbsp at a time, while still beating.
- Beat until the meringue looks glossy and has stiff peaks (see picture below). At this point add the cornstarch mix, and beat until thoroughly combined.
- Set aside.
- Now on to the filling.
The Filling:
- In a saucepan over med-high heat, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, water, zest and lemon juice.
- Mix until the liquid is boiling, then add butter and remove from the heat. Stir until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the hot lemon filling with the 4 egg yolks. This is to prevent the eggs from cooking.
- Then add this mixture to the remaining filling.
- Bring to a boil, and stir for about 1 minute.
Putting it all together:
- Pour the hot lemon filling into tart shell.
- Spread on meringue, sealing the edges.
- Bake in your preheated 400 degree oven until the meringue is golden brown (like a marshmallow). About 10 minutes. Watch closely.
- Remove from oven, and let cool.
Notes
Things to note:
- Use a 25 cm (or close to) flan/tart pan that has a removable bottom. That way the crust comes out easily.
- Make sure to turn your crust out onto an oven-proof serving dish, as it has to go back in to the oven for extra baking.
- If you want a mile-high meringue, with pretty fluffy peaks, you will have to double the meringue recipe.
- You can serve this after it has cooled, or hours later. I think you could make it ahead a couple of hours.
Keywords: lemon meringue, lemon meringue tart