Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts

5 from 4 votes

This Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts recipe is a dainty dessert version of the well know lemon meringue pie.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Waiting Time6

Total Time7 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 667kcal

Sift the flour, icing sugar, almond, and salt together into a bowl. Add very cold butter cubes, and rub the mixture between your hands until it becomes a sand-like consistency.
Slowly add the egg to the mixture, and mix with your hands just until the dough comes together. Knead with your hand for a minute until the dough becomes smooth.
Roll the dough out to 2mm thickness between two Silicone baking mats and place the whole thing into the freezer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your oven rack with the Perforated "air" baking mat and Perforated tart rings on top.
Take the dough out from the freezer and peel off the top mat. Use one of the Perforated tart rings to cut out 8 circles to form the tart bases. Place the bases into each tart ring.
Cut 8 long stripes out of the dough, to form the sides of the tart. Place the strip into the rings and press them in so they stick to it. Place them in the freezer for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 160C / 320F.
After 1 hour, take the pastry dough cases out and trim each one with a sharp knife.
Bake the tartlet cases for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the rings and bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cases to cool completely before filling.

Place the egg yolk, lemon juice, and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler). Cook the curd over medium-high heat whilst whisking constantly to stop the egg from curdling.
After about 8-10 minutes, the mixture starts to thicken like custard (at aroung 80C /176F). Remove it from heat, and pour the cooked curd through a sieve.
Mix the chunks of room-temperature butter into the curd with a spatula. Make sure each chunk is fully incorporated before adding the next, then fold in the lemon zest.
Pour the lemon curd into a container and cover the surface with plastic wrap to stop it from forming a skin. Refrigerate to let it thicken before use.
Fill each tart case with lemon curd up to the edge and then allow them to set in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours.

Place the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler). Heat the mixture over medium-high heat whilst whisking constantly until it reaches a temperature of 70℃/158℉.
Once the sugar fully dissolves, move the egg white sugar mixture into your Stand mixer and start whipping on low speed, then increase to medium/high. Add in the lemon juice after 1 minute and continue beating the meringue at high speed until stiff, shiny peaks form. This can take up to 5-10 minutes.
Pipe or spoon Swiss meringue on top of the tarts to decorate them.
To make a meringue crumb: Make more Swiss meringue and color with food coloring, then bake it and crush it.
To make a chocolate disk: Melt and temper white chocolate, color it with yellow food coloring, and then cut out small circles.

Ingredient notes

Always weigh ingredients by the gram using a digital scale.
Take care when separating eggs. If any yolk gets into the egg white for the meringue, it will fail.
Use fresh, organic lemons for the best flavor. Weigh the lemon juice, as the amount you get from each lemon varies.

Technique notes

If at any point the dough gets too warm and sticky to work with, put it back into the freezer for 5 minutes. It is extremely important to work with a dough that is cold enough to be able to handle (so not sticky) but not too cold, which would result in breaking it.
When rolling out the dough, start from the center of the disc and work your way out. This recipe quantity will reach the silicone baking mats from edge to edge.
Wait for the pastry to contract after taking the tarts out of the oven; it will make it easier to remove the rings. If they won't come off, return them to the oven for a few more minutes and try again.
The lemon curd tart filling will set as it cools in the fridge, so don't skip this step before decorating.
Whisking is important when making the lemon curd and Swiss meringue to avoid cooking the eggs and scrambling them!