Lemon tart (pie) with meringue is a never get old classics.
Perfect combination of sourish lemon curd and sweet fluffy meringue in buttery shortbread crust.
Today we are going to make a lemon tart on an almond shortbread base and also we are going to add some mint to the lemon curd, it will give a nice fresh aftertaste.
So, here is the recipe:
Ingredients for the almond shortbread base:
- 210 g cake flour
- 30 g almond flour
- 50 g whole egg (1 large egg)
- 2 g baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 80 g confectioner’s sugar (sugar powder)
- 120 g softened unsalted butter
Directions for the shortbread lemon tart base:
- With a mixer cream the softened, chopped into cubes butter.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar and salt, mix well.
- Beat the whole egg and add it to the butter, mix until blended in completely.
- Add the almond flour, mix well.
- Combine the sifted cake flour and baking powder, add them to the dough. Mix at a low speed just until blended in, do not overmix the dough.
- Form a ball with the hads and wrap it with a plastic film. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Shaping and baking the shortbread base for the lemon tart
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Remove the dough from the fridge, place it in between two sheets of parchment paper, roll the dough to about 1 cm thick.
- Remove the upper sheet of paper, place a stainless steel baking ring (18 cm diameter) on the rolled dough and cut a circle with a knife. Place the dough (in the ring, with the baking paper beneath it) on a baking pan and bake about 16 minutes at 180°C (356°F) until golden, the exact time depends on the oven.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
- When cooled, place back the ring on the shortbread and place an acetate band in between the shortbread and the ring to form a cylinder, this will help to shape the lemon curd nicely.
Lemon curd for lemon meringue tart
Ingredients for the lemon curd:
- 150 ml fresh lemon juice
- lemon zest (from 1/2 lemon)
- 5-6 sprigs of fresh mint
- 2 egg yolks
- 50 g whole egg (one large egg)
- 1 sheet of gelatin
- 90 g white sugar (quantity might be slightly increased to your taste)
- 10 g corn starch
- 50 g unsalted butter
If you prefer lemon curd to be less sour – take 100 ml of lemon juice and add 100 ml of water or orange juice.
Also one extra egg yolk can be added in order to achieve more silky and rich texture.
Directions for the lemon curd:
- Place the gelatin in a cold water.
- In a heavy saucepan combine the lemon juice, zest and chopped mint and bring to a boil. Cook about two minutes at a low heat to let the mixture infuse with mint aroma. Then drain the mixture.
- With a whip, beat the egg yolks and whole egg with sugar.
- Add the starch to the eggs, beat with the whip until homogeneous and smooth.
- Temper the egg mixture by slowly beating in the hot lemon juice in a thin stream.
- Return the mixture to the heat and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.
- When the mixture thickens, becomes glossy and starts to boil, remove it from heat.
- Add squeezed gelatin. Mix well to blend it in completely.
- Let the cream cool a bit and add the butter (at room temperature, chopped into cubes).
- Mix the cream well until smooth and shiny.
- Pour the cream on the top of cooled shortbread base with acetate band. Align the surface with a spatula.
- Cover with a plastic film (in direct contact with the surface of the cream) and send to the fridge for about 1-2 hours to set.
Ingredients for the meringue for lemon pie:
There are three basic types of meringue – italian, swiss and french meringues. For the lemon tart we are going to make a swiss meringue – it is glossy and stable enough to decorate the tart.
- 100 g egg whites (at room temperature)
- 100 g white sugar
- 100 g confectioner’s sugar (sugar powder)
Procedure for the swiss meringue:
- Place the egg whites and sugar in a stainless steel bowl or in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a wire whip over hot water until the mixture reaches 45-50 °C (113 – 122°F).
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixer and whip at high speed adding the sugar powder in stages until form stiff peaks and the meringue is cooled completely.
Assembling the lemon tart with meringue
Remove the tart from the fridge, demould it and remove acetate strip.
Put the meringue into a pastry bag with a tip that you like (I’ve used St. Honore tip) and pour on the top of the lemon curd. Slightly brown the meringue with a torch.
More Pastry Techniques and Recipes:
