Lemon Meringue Tart

My son turned 13 years old in March and he is officially a teenager!  For some miraculous reason, he also grew about 5inches/15cm after he turned 13 in about 6 months... and....his voice seems to be flipping up and down.  My baby boy is becoming a big boy for sure.  Any parent who has gone through this experience must know my exact complexed feelings, loneliness, confusion, resentment, and excitement all at the same time.  Truly bitter sweet.  A bit like this lemon meringue tart.

He doesn't have much of sweet teeth but his ultimate dessert, the favorite is lemon tart.  Yes I made this about 6 months ago and took me this long to post it.  That's because I accidentally deleted most of the photos.  Tough time in many ways...  I was in shock and horror to find out that I made that mistake. As a professional photographer, losing images is a sin.  Happened to me only a few time in the past 20 years.  But then I realized that shit happens.  Look around. I need to give myself a little break.  Don't beat myself up.  It's a cake.  I can make it and photograph it again. (It wasn't for a client!)  People who are out there, tough on yourselves, do this more often.  Let's relax. 

Now I'll be honest, this was one of the most complicated dessert I have ever made. Hence why lose these particular images...!!!  No, but I got to make it again and the second one turned out just as the first one.  I'm not a trained baker and for a recipe like this.  I needed one and thanks to this excellent recipe and instruction by Sally's Baking Addiction, I was saved.  

I've always baked my kids' birthday cakes every year.  This one was easily one of the best out of the total of 24 birthday cakes I've made so far.  It tasted amazing with all the lemon juice, creamy eggs and crunchy crust.  It also looked pretty fun with burnt meringue. Follow Sally's steps and you'll find your way there too.  My recipe is mostly same as hers, except I used coconut oil instead of vegetable shortening in the crust.  

Happy baking!

Yield

9 inch Pie

Author

Bella Bonito

Prep time

2 H & 30 M

Cook time

1 Hour

Total time

3 H & 30 M

Print

Lemon Meringue Tart

Lemon Meringue Tart with creamy lemon curd and mini meringue buttons

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• 2 and 1/2 cups (315g) all-purpose  flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 3/4 cup (148g) coconut oil, chilled
• 1/2 cup (120ml) ice water

Lemon Curd Filling

• 5 large egg yolks (use the whites in the meringue below)
• 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) water
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (38g) cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Meringue

• 5 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Pie Crust

1. In the food processor, add cubed butter and coconut oil and blend it until mixed. Add flour and salt, and blend it until the mixture turns into coarse meal. Add some cold water if need until it form together like a ball.
2. Place the formed dough onto a floured surface. Using floured hands, flatten the ball nicely about one inch thick disc.
3. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least for 2 hours or over night.
4. Dust the work surface and rolling pen. carefully flatten the dough out by pressing it out from the center of the dough to the edge. Grease the pie dish with spray oil. Transfer the flattened dough carefully onto a pie dish. I used a 9 inch dish and formed the dough around the edge by gently holding down the top of the dough with one hand as pushing an index finger of another hand toward the edge to make the pattern along the dish (as seen in the photo).
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 min so that the crust will turn out nice and crunchy.
6. Preheat the oven at 400°F (204°C).  Make tiny holes at the bottom of the pie by poking it with a fork several spots.  Part-bake the crust for about 15 minutes and set it aside.

Lemon Curd Filling

1. Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk the water, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. The mixture will be thin and cloudy, then eventually begin thickening and bubbling after about 6 minutes. Once thickened, give it a whisk and reduce heat to low.
2. Temper the egg yolks: Very slowly stream a few large spoonfuls of warm lemon mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Then, also in a very slow stream, whisk the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook until the mixture is thick and big bubbles begin bursting at the surface. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter. Spread filling into the warm partially baked crust. Set aside as you prepare the meringue. (Don’t let the filling cool down too much as you want a warm filling when you top with the meringue. The warm filling helps seal the two layers together, preventing separation.)

Meringue

1. With a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed for 1 minute, then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 more minutes. Add the sugar and salt, then continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about 2 more minutes. 

Finish Baking Tart

1. Preheat the oven 350°F (177°C).
2. Pour the filling onto the part-baked crust and spread it evenly.  Then Top it with meringue.  Gently spread around the meringue without touching the filling and make some peaks.  Pipe some on top (optional).
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the meringue is browned on top. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour before placing in the refrigerator to chill. 

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @rikafoto on instagram and hashtag it #lemonmeringuetart