Lemon meringue tart
A sweet almond pastry shell, a lemon cream finished with butter, and a cooked Italian meringue. The butter goes in once the cream has cooled to 40 °C (104 °F), so it emulsifies rather than melts.
- Makes
- 2 tarts (18 cm)
- Total
- 1,581 g
Scale
tarts
Sweet pastry
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|
| 200 g | 100% | |
| 120 g | 60% | |
| 80 g | 40% | |
| 16 g | 8% | |
| 40 g | 20% | |
| 2 g | 1% | |
| Total | 458 g |
- Rub the dry ingredients and the butter together until the mixture looks sandy.
- Add the eggs and mix briefly, only until the dough comes together.
- Chill the dough quickly.
- Roll it out 2.5 mm thick, line two 18 cm tart rings and dock the bottoms.
- Blind bake for 20 minutes at 155 °C (300 °F).
- Brush the shells with egg wash and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more.
Lemon cream
| Ingredient | Grams | % of lemon purée |
|---|---|---|
| 150 g | 100% | |
| 250 g | 167% | |
| 200 g | 133% | |
| 3 g | 2% | |
| 20 g | 13% | |
| 125 g | 83% | |
| Total | 748 g |
- Bloom the gelatin in the water.
- Bring the lemon purée to a boil.
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale, then whisk in some of the hot lemon.
- Bring everything to a boil, whisking.
- Off the heat, add the bloomed gelatin.
- Let the cream cool to 40 °C (104 °F), add the butter in cubes and blend.
- Pour into the baked tart shells and freeze.
Italian meringue
| Ingredient | Grams | % of egg whites |
|---|---|---|
| 65 g | 65% | |
| 200 g | 200% | |
| 100 g | 100% | |
| Total | 365 g |
- Cook the water and sugar to a syrup at 118 °C (245 °F).
- Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then pour in the syrup.
- Keep whipping until the meringue has cooled.
- Pipe the meringue over the lemon cream until it is completely covered.
Finishing
| Ingredient | Grams | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 g | ||
| Total | 10 g |
- Dust the meringue with powdered sugar.
- Brown it lightly with a kitchen torch, or for 2 minutes in the oven at 230 °C (450 °F).
For bakers in the US
- All-purpose flour (T65)
- French type 65 flour; in the US, an all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Powdered (confectioners’) sugar; US powdered sugar contains about 3% cornstarch
- Almond powder
- Almond flour (finely ground blanched almonds)
- Lemon purée
- The method calls it lemon juice; strained lemon juice can stand in. Purée is thicker and often slightly sweetened, so check the brand
- Sand
- Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mix looks like sand (sabler)
