Lemon Meringue Tart: Easy and Festive French Delight

Airy, tender, beautiful, festive — and easy to prepare. Lemon meringue tart is a popular French dessert. You will have to spend time on it, but the result is worth it. This pastry looks so beautiful that it can decorate any holiday!
cook time: 3h
Freya Ashford
Lemon Meringue Tart: Easy and Festive French Delight

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

253
Calories
11g
Fat
33g
Carbs
3g
Protein

Ingredients (12 portions)

For the lemon cream:

Milk 400 ml
Egg yolks 4 pc
Sugar 250 g
Corn starch 4 tbsp
Lemons 3 pc
Butter 80 g

For the sand base:

Wheat flour 225 g
Butter 155 g
Water 5 tbsp
Salt to taste

For the meringue:

Egg whites 4 pc
Sugar 200 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to make lemon meringue tart? Start with the lemon curd. Prepare food for him. I use corn starch. If you have potato, use half as much. You will need two servings of milk — 350 ml and 50 ml.

Step 2

Step 2
Wash the eggs and dry with napkins. Then separate the whites and yolks into separate bowls. For the cream we only need yolks. Set the whites aside — we will need them later.

Step 3

Step 3
Beat the raw yolks in any way, using a mixer or a whisk. Add 50 ml of milk to them and beat again.

Step 4

Step 4
Add starch to the yolks, stir the mixture with a whisk so that there are no lumps in it.

Step 5

Step 5
Wash and dry the lemons. Remove the zest from them using a fine grater.

Step 6

Step 6
Squeeze the juice from all the lemons. Then strain the juice through a sieve, separating the pulp and seeds.

Step 7

Step 7
Pour 350 ml of milk into the pan. Add sugar to the milk and place the pan on the fire. Cook until boiling, stirring with a whisk. The sugar should completely dissolve.

Step 8

Step 8
Pour hot milk into the beaten yolks in a thin stream while stirring continuously.

Step 9

Step 9
Return the pan with milk to the heat. Cook until thickened. It is necessary to stir the cream with a whisk all the time so that it does not burn on the bottom and does not form lumps. Keep the fire low. When the cream becomes completely thick, remove it from the heat.

Step 10

Step 10
Add grated zest, lemon juice and butter to the yolk cream. Stir thoroughly. Leave to cool.

Step 11

Step 11
While the cream is cooling, prepare the sand base. Place the butter in the freezer first. The water should also be ice cold. Sift the flour and add a pinch of salt to it. A lot of useful information about shortcrust pastry can be found in the article, link at the end of the recipe.

Step 12

Step 12
Grate the cooled butter directly into the sifted flour. It will be more convenient to do this by dipping the butter into flour — this way it will not slip in your hands.

Step 13

Step 13
Rub the butter into the flour with your hands until sand crumbs form. You need to work quickly so that the butter doesnʼt start to melt. Then add water to the crumbs and knead the shortbread dough. Do not knead the dough too much, just gather it into a ball. Remember that you may need less or more flour, you can read more about this in the article, the link to it is at the end of the recipe.

Step 14

Step 14
Wrap the dough ball in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Step 15

Step 15
Roll out the rested dough into a round layer about 5 mm thick. Place it in a baking dish, form the sides — you should end up with a dough basket like this. Prick it with a fork in several places. Why prick the dough with a fork? When baking, it will not swell or bubble. There is no need to grease the mold.

Step 16

Step 16
Place baking paper on top of the dough basket. Add a weight, such as raw, firm beans or peas. This will also prevent the base from puffing up when baking.

Step 17

Step 17
Bake the pie base at a temperature of about 200 degrees for about 15 minutes with a load. Then remove the paper with beans and bake for another 10 minutes at the same temperature until lightly browned. Let the base cool completely. Determine the exact baking time and temperature based on your oven; you can read more about this in the article, link at the end of this recipe.

Step 18

Step 18
Now start preparing the meringue. You can read about how to beat egg whites in the article, the link to which is at the end of this recipe.

Step 19

Step 19
Build a water bath on the stove. To do this, boil some water in a saucepan and place a bowl on top. The bottom should not touch the water. Pour the egg whites into a bowl and add sugar. Stir the sugar until it is completely dissolved.

Step 20

Step 20
Then start whipping the whites with a mixer directly in a water bath. Beat for about 5 minutes until fluffy and white.

Step 21

Step 21
Then you need to quickly cool the whites. To do this, transfer the bowl with them to a bowl of water to which ice has been added. This will stop the proteins from brewing. Continue beating the whites for a couple more minutes. The goal is to achieve hard peaks.

Step 22

Step 22
Place the cream on the sand base and carefully smooth it out.

Step 23

Step 23
Place egg white meringue on top. This can be done using a pastry bag, pipetting the whipped whites in the form of roses. Or you can just use a spoon to make a chaotic pattern.

Step 24

Step 24
Burn the tops of the white peaks with a pastry torch. Or you can put the pie in the oven under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Serve the tart after cooling it well. Bon appetit!

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