Lemon Meringue Tartlets
You’ll need super fresh organic eggs for this recipe and good lemons – a brilliant version of a timeless favourite.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
20
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
25
MINUTES
Ingredients
For the pastry
175g plain white flour
75g butter
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk (keep white aside for meringue)
2 tbsp cold water approx.
For the lemon curd
50g butter
100g caster sugar
finely grated rind and juice of 2 good lemons
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk (keep white aside for meringue)
For the meringue
4 egg whites, preferably free range
225g caster sugar
4 x deep tartlet tins, approximately 2cm deep x 8cm wide
Method
First make the pastry
Sieve the flour with the salt, cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour with the fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.
Whisk the egg yolk and add the water. Take a fork or knife, (whichever you feel most comfortable with) and add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect it into a ball with your hands, this way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven. The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper shorter crust.
Wrap in parchment paper and chill for half an hour, if possible, this will make it less elastic and easier to roll out. Preheat the oven to oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Line the tartlets and chill again for 15-20 minutes, line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans.
Bake blind in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. The pastry case must be almost fully cooked. Remove paper and beans, paint with a little lightly beaten egg white and put back into the oven for 5 minutes approx.
Meanwhile make the lemon curd
On a very low heat melt the butter, add caster sugar, lemon juice and rind and then stir in well beaten eggs and yolk. Stir carefully over a gentle heat until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Draw off the heat and pour into a bowl (it will thicken as it cools.) Fill the pastry case with the lemon curd mixture.
Increase the oven temperature to 210°C/Gas Mark 6 ½.
To make the meringue
Whisk the egg whites in a perfectly clean dry bowl, until they begin to get fluffy, then add the caster sugar and continue to whisk until they form stiff peaks. Immediately either pipe or spread over the cold lemon curd with a spoon.
Bake in the preheated oven for 6-7 minutes.
Serve warm or cold.
Note: Do not whip the egg whites and make the meringue until you are ready to use otherwise if it sits around, it will lose volume. If the meringue is not piped immediately it will split.
