Best 5 Lemon Meringue Tarts Recipes

MINI LEMON MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven; leave oven on.
• Whisk egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, butter, lemon juice, and zest together in a medium bowl. Whisk in buttermilk. Add flour and salt; whisk well.
• Pour filling into the tart shells, filling them almost to the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling rises and appears set, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid overcooking.
• Prepare meringue while the tarts are baking. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until frothy. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cream of tartar; continue beating until meringue is stiff and shiny.
• Top baked tarts with meringue. Ensure that you press the meringue down to form a seal around the edges.
• Return tarts to oven and bake until meringue starts to brown, about 10 minutes more. Let cool before serving.

LEMON MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• For the crust: Place 12 identical 3 1/4-inch brioche a tete molds in the freezer.
• Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to 2 to 4 times, then add butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until texture looks mealy and no large lumps of butter remain. Pour on water and pulse 5 times. (At this point, the mixture should hold together when squeezed.) Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and draw the plastic up around it, squeezing and pressing the dough into a ball. Flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Dust the top of the disk with a small amount of flour and top with a second sheet of parchment. Roll dough out into a round 1/8-inch thick. Use a 5-inch biscuit cutter and cut 6 circles out of the dough. Re-roll once if necessary.
• Remove the brioche molds from the freezer. Line 6 of the molds with the dough, being careful to press the dough into all the nooks and crannies. Gently run the rolling pin over the tops of the molds to trim the edges. Nestle each of the empty brioche molds inside the molds with the dough. Place the sandwiched molds in the freezer refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and position a rack in the center of the oven with a second just beneath it.
• Remove the sandwiched molds from the freezer. Place them, inverted, directly on the center rack with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any butter that might render out. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the molds from the oven. Flip right-side up and remove the top molds.
• Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F, return the tart shells to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove the tart shells from the oven and let cool completely on a baking rack before removing the shells from the molds.
• For the lemon filling: Whisk egg yolks until light in color in a medium nonreactive bowl and set aside.
• Whisk cornstarch, sugar, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and temper the yolks by slowly adding the hot starch mixture to them in a steady stream, whisking constantly, until a third of the starch mixture has been worked into the eggs, then return that mixture to the saucepan. Whisk in the butter and continue heating until just boiling.
• Stir in the lemon juice and zest, reduce heat to medium-low and whisk constantly until mixture returns to a boil. Cook for 1 full minute more, then transfer to a medium bowl over an ice bath. Cool, stirring occasionally, until the curd is just slightly warmer than room temperature. (Do not chill or cool completely, or the curd will become difficult to spread.) Pour or use a pastry or zip top bag with the corner cut off to pipe the mostly cooled curd into the tart shells until flush with the tops of the shells. Cool filled tarts completely on a baking rack while you make the meringue topping.
• For the meringue: Whisk together the egg whites until foamy, then add the sugar, cream of tartar and salt in the heat-proof bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 165 degrees F. Then return the bowl to the base of the stand mixer and whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until medium-stiff peaks form. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes total. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
• Pipe the meringue to cover the top of the cooled tarts. Brown the meringue under a preheated low broiler, about 1 minute, or with a kitchen torch.

LEMON MERINGUE TARTS IN PHYLLO CUPS

Steps:

• For curd: Whip eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy with a whip attachment.
• Gradually mix in lemon juice and rind. Place over boiling water and cook, whisking until extremely thick, about 5 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Pour into a container, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight to stiffen.
• For tart dough:
• Lay one sheet of phyllo on work surface. Brush with clarified butter and sprinkle with sugar.
• Repeat the process with the second and third sheets. Cut into 3-inch squares.
• Lay 18 tartlet molds upside down on a sheet pan. Lay 1 square of phyllo over each pan, then place a second one on top of phyllo to help form tartlet shells. The square corners will spread out flat on the sheet pan.
• Bake in this upside down position weighted down with another sheet pan at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown.
• Let phyllo cool slightly, but while still warm remove from molds. Cool completely then fill with lemon curd by piping with a plain tip.
• For meringue:
• Whip egg whites until stiff but not dry then add the brown sugar gradually and continue whipping until stiff.
• Pipe onto lemon curd with a star tip and brown with a blow torch or under the broiler.

INDIVIDUAL LEMON MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the pastry: Roll the pastry to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 6 (6-inch) rounds. Place the pastry in 6 (4-inch) tart molds. With a knife trim the excess pastry. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Line each tart shell with a piece of parchment paper and fill to the rim with pie weights.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the pie weights and parchment from the tart shells and bake for 10 minutes.
• For the filling: Whisk together the lemon juice, eggs, yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract.
• Pour the lemon mixture into a medium pot. Place over medium heat and stir with a spatula for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Pour the lemon mixture onto a baking sheet and cool completely.
• Spoon the cooled lemon mixture or curd into the baked tart shells.
• For the meringue: Beat the egg whites with the vanilla extract and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Continue beating while adding the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. The finished meringue should have stiff glossy peaks. Mound the meringue on top of the tarts.
• Make sure there is a good seal between the meringue and the edge of the crust. Bake the tarts in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the meringue is golden. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from the molds.
• Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using a cheese grater, grate the butter and shortening into the flour. Combine the mixture with your fingers until it resembles cornmeal. Add the ice cold water and mix with a spoon, pulling the water into the flour until a dough forms.
• With your hands, shape the dough into 2 balls and flatten them into disks. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 1 month.

LEMON MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• For meringue, in a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. , Drop meringue into six mounds on parchment-lined baking sheets. Shape into 4-in. cups with the back of a spoon. Bake at 225° for 55 minutes. Turn oven off and do not open door; let meringues dry in oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours., For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, sugar substitute and cornstarch. Gradually stir in the water until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Remove from the heat. Stir about half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in lemon juice and zest. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. , Just before serving, fill meringue shells with lemon mixture. Garnish with lemon slices and mint.