lemon meringue tarts

I have never been sure what the difference is between tarts and pies. According to The Kitchn,
the humble pie (haha) is a sweet or savoury dish with a crust and a filling. It has a crisp flaky crust and is served straight out of the pie dish; it can have a top, a bottom or both. A tart, on the other hand, is cooked in a pan with a removable bottom or a pastry ring. Tarts don’t have a lid, and the pastry is usually firm but a bit crumbly, like a biscuit. Most people tend to describe this recipe as a pie, however I have decided that it is a tart because it is topped with meringue, not pastry, and the crust is biscuity and sweet, rather than flaky and crisp.

Eating one of these is like biting into a cloud. The meringue is very light and airy, and the lemon curd was so citrus flavoured that if not for the meringue, would have been overwhelming. I felt pretty smug after making these little tarts, as the contestants of The Great Australian Bake Off made lemon meringue pies last week, and unlike theirs, mine didn’t leak, weep or crack. Although one must remember that I spent a leisurely six hours making these whilst watching Teen Wolf, and they had only a couple of stressful hours to do it. The curd and meringue recipes are from here, and the crust recipe is from here.

I also had a minor kitchen disaster while making these; caused by my poor cat. My dad brought her inside and into the living room/kitchen. The dog then chased her, so she jumped onto the bench, overshot it and fell onto the floor. She then jumped back up onto the bench and managed to knock the sugar and candy thermometer onto the ground, and smashed a glass, which scattered all over the bench and the floor and fell into the flour container. Fel (short for Felecia, but perhaps ironic in this situation) then jumped onto the couch and proceeded to lick herself, as cats tend to do. Other than that, the recipe worked perfectly.

Crust...

150 grams butter

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 ½ cups plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

 

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar with stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment

2. Add eggs and mix until incorporated

3. Add flour and salt and mix at a low speed until combined

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour

5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, drape dough into a tart pan and trim excess dough with a knife

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put the tart crust in the freezer until very firm

7. Cover the tart with aluminium foil and place pie weights (I used uncooked rice) onto the foil

8. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and let the crust cool completely before filling

 

 

Lemon curd…

1 ¼ cup caster sugar

1 ¼ cup water

¾ cup lemon juice

3 egg yolks

¼ cup cornstarch

50 grams butter

 

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks and cornstarch

2. Place saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened (10-12 minutes)

3. Whisk in butter until smooth and pour into tart crusts

 

 

Meringue…

1/3 cup sugar

3 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Method:

1. Fill a medium saucepan a quarter full of water and bring to a simmer

2. Combine all ingredients in a heatproof glass bowl and place over simmering water

3. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat and beat until stiff peaks form

4. Top the tarts with meringue and use a blowtorch or oven grill to brown the peaks