Deliciously Tangy Lemon Meringue

This is a crowd pleaser when it comes to deserts. A thin pâte sucrée (sweet pastry) crust with a delicate lemon curd middle and a light crisp but gooey in the centre meringue topping. This dessert is perfect after any meal, despite all the layers it is light and very refreshing, with a lovely sharpness of the lemon complimenting the sweet of the meringue.  There are many elements to this in comparison to a knock together pud, but have patience, it's well worth it! 

So here you are guys, the recipe....

Ingredients

Pâte Sucrée:

90g soft butter

65g caster sugar

3 free range egg yolks

200g plain flour

Lemon Curd:

2 lemons (grated zest and juice)

3tbs cornflour

275ml water

50g caster sugar

3 egg yolks

40g unsalted butter

Meringue:

3 egg whited

175g caster sugar

Preheat oven- 190°C

Method

1. For the pâte sucrée, Cream the butter and sugar together, add the yolks one at a time and then proceed to add the flour to make a dough. Knead the dough until smooth (this takes moments), wrap it up in some clingfilm and bob it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the pastry from the fridge and put the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out depending on what size you want the tart or tartlets, I personally like thin pastry so the thinner the better. Once the pastry is in it's case or cases use a fork and prick the base of the pastry and bake on a high shelf. Take out of the oven and leave to cool when golden brown. 

3. Turn the oven down to 150°C.

4. It's time to make the curd. Add the sugar and corn flour into a bowl and add a small amount of water to make it into a smooth paste. Pour the rest of the water into a sauce pan along with lemon zest. bring it to the boil. Gradually pour the water and lemon onto the corn flour mix and stir until smooth. 

5.Return mix into the saucepan and stir gently. Allow it to simmer for around 1 minute still stirring gently (you'll notice the change). remove from the heat and beat the egg yolks and lemon juice in to the hot mix.

6. Add the curd into the cool pastry case(s).

7. Now to top it off.  Meringue! In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with a large whisk (the  larger the whisk and bowl the quicker!) until the whisk forms peaks. Still whisking add the sugar a quarter at a time until the mix is smooth and glossy.

8. This is my favorite part! Spoon on the meringue on top of the curd, add a small amount at of mix at a time initially to ensure that any holes are covered (similar to a baked Alaska) then add the rest of the mix and make it look beautiful!

9. Pop the tart into the oven and remove when the tart has turned a pale beige and when tapped it sounds hollow. The cooking time will obviously vary depending on the size. If you have a brulee torch lightly tickle the tops but be careful it can burn incredibly easily!

ENJOY!

Hot or Cold