Lemon Tart with Meringue
Torta meringata di limone
There are different stories about the origin of meringue, but the most entertaining is that it was invented in the Swiss town Meiringen by an Italian chef some time in the 17th century. This might also help to explain why there are several types of meringue: A French meringue, where sugar is beaten into the egg whites and then dried in the oven to a crisp, airy biscuit. And an Italian meringue, where a boiling sugar syrup is whipped into the egg whites till stiff. The Italian version is softer than the French version, and only needs to be dried out with a blow torch.
I’ve tried making this lemon tart with meringue the Italian way, but I find the boiled syrup to be too much of a bother. That’s why I have started to use pasteurized egg whites prepared like the French do but with a blow torch kiss in the end. For meringue fans there’s another great cake recipe here, while lemon cake aficionados might prefer a lemon pie without meringue.
Ingredients
For the pastry
250 g flour
150 g butter
70 g powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 egg
For the lemon cream
½ organic lemon (juice and zest)
100 g sugar
3 egg
250 ml double cream
For the meringue
2 pasteurized egg whites
50 g caster sugar
50 g powdered sugar
Preparation
For the pastry mix flour, sugar and vanilla.
Chop in butter.
Collect the pastry with the egg till it forms a ball.
Roll it out to a thin circle between two sheets of plastic wrap.
Remove one layer of plastic wrap and use the other layer to lift the pastry from the table top and line a pre-greased tart pan or 8 smaller tart pans.
Line the pastry with baking paper filled with dried beans and blind bake at 180 C/ 360 F for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the filling.
Cut the halved lemon in smaller pieces – zest, meat and all – and blend it with sugar and eggs (If you want to make sure that no bitterness remains from the lemon, you have to grate the zest and make sure you use the yellow part only, and cut the meat in fillets to make sure that all the white edges and membranes are removed. I can’t taste the difference though.)
Heat up the double cream in a casserole and stir it into the lemon and egg mixture drop by drop.
Return the mixture to the casserole and heat it through until it starts to thicken. It shouldn’t be allowed to boil.
Remove the beans from the pre-baked pastry shell and fill the shell with lemon cream.
Bake the tart at 150 C/300 F for 30 minutes till the cream is firm.
Prepare the meringue after the tart has left the oven.
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with caster sugar until foamy.
Add the powdered sugar and beat some more.
When stiff peaks form, fill the egg whites into in a piping bag (I use an ordinary plastic bag, cutting off a small corner) and decorate the lemon tart with meringue lines, lattice or floating islands.
Use a blow torch to to make the meringue firmer or place the tart under grill for a couple of minutes. Don’t leave it, because it burns easily.
Lemon tart with meringue is gorgeous as an end to any meal.
Another one of your recipes I must try. I love lemon meringue pie, so am sure I would love this. Speaking of lemons, I’ve made your lemon spaghetti recipe several times and always think of you when I make it.
So glad you like it – just make sure you don’t burn the meringue like I did;)
Oh, that looks so decadent and delicious :)