Aren’t these little guys the cutest!! I couldn’t be happier with how these Meyer lemon meringue tartlets turned out! Sometimes you get an idea in your head and it doesn’t exactly turn out how you hoped. This actually happens to me all the time. But other times, things just work. Ya know! And it’s a great feeling.
These lemon meringue tartlets fit in perfectly for this time of year, in my opinion. We’re nearing the end of winter and closing out on citrus season. But spring is right around the corner and a treat as bright and sunny as these tartlets help welcome the changing seasons. They’d also look pretty awesome as part of an Easter brunch spread, just saying!
Also, Pi Day is a few days away! haha! 😄 3.14….ya know Pi, that math term we had to learn a really really long time ago. But also…PIE! Technically these are considered tarts (or tartlets due to their size) but I’m going to give it a pass. Lemon meringue tart, lemon meringue pie…pretty much the same, just a different type of dough is used.
The tart dough, or pate sucree, comes together super quick with the help of a food processor. Whip the dough up, throw it in the fridge to chill and use that time to work on your Meyer lemon curd. Now, if you can’t find Meyer lemons you can totally use regular lemons instead and the curd will still turn out fantastic. Once you’ve made your curd, place it a bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap and let cool in the fridge until it is set.
While the curd sets you can return to your tart dough. Utilize your muffin/cupcake tin to shape the dough into mini tarts. I’ve used silicon liners here, but cupcake liners will work as well. Both give cute ridges on the sides of the tarts and make it super easy to remove them from the pan.
After both the tartlet shells and curd are ready it’s assembly time! Dollop in some curd into each cup and top with swiss meringue. I like to pipe the meringue on in fun designs using a piping tip, but feel free to use a spoon to add some swirls of personality. Lastly, I torched the meringue to bring out the ridges in the design, but also because I find using my kitchen torch to be waaayyyy to much fun! Like remember these s’more brownies from not too long ago?! So fun!
Meyer Lemon Meringue Tartlets
- Yield: 12 tartlets 1x
Description
A delightful fun sized version of a lemon meringue tart! Filled with sweet and tangy Meyer lemon curd and topped with a marshmallowy meringue.
Ingredients
Pâté Sucrée (Sweet Short Crust)
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 8 TBS (4 oz) cold butter, diced
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1–2 TBS cold water
Meyer Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup Meyer lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 TBS lemon zest
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 TBS butter, diced
Swiss Meringue
- 1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3–4 eggs)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
Pâté Sucrée (Sweet Short Crust)
- Combine flour, sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse together. Add cold diced butter and pulse again until butter is broken down into very small pieces and the mixture resembles the texture of bread crumbs.
- Combine egg yolk + 1 TBS water in a small bowl. Add to the flour/butter mixture and pulse to incorporate. Continue pulsing until the dough starts to clump together and form a ball (adding more water needed, 1 tsp at a time).
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to make it into a smooth round ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Roll out dough again onto a lightly floured work surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. For mini tarts made in a standard muffin tin, cut out twelve 3 1/2″ circles.
- Line muffin tin with twelve paper or silicon liners. Gently ease each circle of dough into a muffin liner. Prick the bottom of tart dough with a fork a few times. Line each mini tart with a small portion of parchment paper and fill each with a few pie weights (or dried beans/rice).
- Bake for 10 min with the weights. Remove from oven and carefully remove the pie weights. Bake for an additional 5-7 min, until the pastry is light golden brown and dry.
Meyer Lemon Curd
- Place lemon juice, zest, yolks, sugar and salt into a medium sized saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook mixture over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let the mixture come to a boil as this will cause the eggs to curdle. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until melted.
- Strain the curd into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on top, touching the curd so a skin doesn’t form. Place in the fridge to cool for several hours or until it is set.
Swiss Meringue
- Combine egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl and whisk to combine. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat the egg/sugar mixture, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Check the mixture by rubbing a small amount between your fingers. If it feels gritty then continue heating for another few minutes. Once it is smooth and you no longer feel granules of sugar the mixture is ready.
- Place the mixture into a bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- Once the mini tart shells are cooled and the curd is set you can start assembling. Use a spoon to fill each tartlet with the curd and smooth the top.
- Dollop the swiss meringue on top of the curd using either a clean spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip. You will have extra meringue.
- (Optional: lightly toast the meringue using a kitchen torch).
Notes
– Store tartlets in the fridge.
– You will have extra meringue and possibly extra curd. The curd can be used on toast or as a yogurt topping. The meringue can be used to make meringue kisses.
I hope you guys give this a try! And be sure to send me a pic if you do!
As always, happy baking!
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