Pâté Sucrée (Sweet Short Crust)

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. Preheat oven to 400°F.
5. 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.
6. 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).
7. 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

1. 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.
2. 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

1. 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.
2. Place the mixture into a bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip until stiff peaks form.

Assembly

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. (Optional: lightly toast the meringue using a kitchen torch).