As I look at the photo of the creamy lemon meringue tart, I wonder why I added mint… It wasn’t for the green color!!! Oh well.
This dessert is very fresh, the aroma of lemon makes it delicious and it’s very easy to make!
I confess that I didn’t feel like making the pastry crust and bought a ready-made and pre-rolled one to speed things up.
The only caution when using this ready-made pastry crust is to bake the shell at low heat for 20/25 minutes while being careful not to let the bottom get too brown (or burnt).
For this tart with a lemon cream filling and covered with Italian meringue, you need to do a blind bake, which means:
– place the package with the parchment paper protection on the baking pan;
– cover with another sheet of parchment paper;
– fill the entire surface with ceramic beads or dried legumes;
– bake at 338°F (170°C) and monitor the baking until you see the edges are golden but not too dark.
The lemon cream of the lemon meringue tart is very tasty and shiny, and it’s similar to this sweet sauce prepared with orange aroma
ORANGE CREAM WITHOUT BUTTER, EGGS, SUGAR, MILK
LEMON TART
HOW MANY TYPES OF MERINGUE EXIST IN PASTRY?
There are 3 types of meringue that can be prepared:
– Italian meringue;
– French meringue;
– Swiss meringue.
The main difference between the types of meringue is in their preparation methods and cooking.
CREAMY LEMON MERINGUE TART
ASI’s Kitchen
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 24/26 cm pan
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 1 package shortcrust pastry (ready-made and pre-rolled)
- 7 oz sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 4 eggs (medium)
- 7 oz lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (grated)
- 3 egg whites
- 6.7 oz sugar
- 4 tablespoons water
Tools
- Citrus Juicer
- Baking Pan
- Torch
- Thermometer
Preparation
For the lemon meringue tart, first preheat the oven to 338°F (170°C).
Place the ready-made pastry in the pan, prick the bottom with a fork.
For the blind bake…
Place another sheet of parchment paper over it and cover with ceramic baking beads or dried beans … whatever you prefer and have at home.
Bake and cook the crust for about 20/25 minutes and in the meantime start making the lemon cream.
For the lemon cream, simply put the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, grated lemon zest, and eggs in a saucepan.
Blend everything with electric mixers to get a smooth and fluid mixture.
Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until it thickens into a cream: it will take about 7/8 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir while cooling the lemon cream without butter and milk.
When the pastry shell is cool, remove the parchment sheets, place it back in the pan or on the plate you chose, and fill the base with the lemon cream without butter and milk.
Proceed to make the Italian meringue (which perhaps I could have made firmer and softer) by placing water and sugar in a small saucepan.
While the syrup heats up, start beating the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Meanwhile, the syrup will continue to heat until it reaches 246/248°F (119/120°C) as measured with the thermometer.
I have a thermometer bought for a few dollars on Amazon, like the one in the photo.
Add the boiling hot syrup over the egg whites that are already partly beaten, and continue whisking everything.
You need to obtain a glossy, soft meringue with high and flexible peaks.
Place the meringue in a piping bag with a small star nozzle and make concentric tufts over the entire tart.
That’s what I did, but you’ll surely do a more accurate job!
With the torch/caramelizer, pass over the entire meringue. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the refill to use it, so I put my homemade tart with shortcrust pastry under the grill for just a few minutes.
Decorate with mint leaves… or not, since they don’t look that great, and….
serve at the table!
Enjoy your meal!
Annalisa
