Description

These Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts feature a crisp, buttery tart crust filled with tangy homemade lemon curd and topped with light, fluffy Swiss meringue. Perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, these elegant tarts are ideal for a refreshing dessert or teatime treat, with a delicate almond-flavored pastry and optional decorative meringue crumbs and colorful white chocolate disks.

Ingredients

Tart Crust

230 g Pastry flour (or all-purpose/plain flour)
90 g Powdered sugar
30 g Almond flour
Pinch of salt
110 g Unsalted butter (very cold, cubed)
50 g Egg (approximately 1 egg)

Lemon Curd Filling

200 g Freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 5-6 lemons)
Zest of lemons used above
6 Egg yolks
240 g Granulated sugar
200 g Unsalted butter (room temperature, soft butter)

Swiss Meringue

60 g Egg whites (approximately 2 egg whites)
100 g Granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Lemon juice

Optional Decorations

Meringue crumb (colored and baked Swiss meringue, crushed)
Chocolate disk (tempered white chocolate with yellow food coloring, cut into circles)

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Instructions

Make tart crust dough: Sift pastry flour, powdered sugar, almond flour, and salt together in a bowl. Add cold cubed butter and rub the mixture between your hands until it resembles coarse sand.
Combine dough: Gradually add the egg and mix with your hands just until the dough comes together. Knead gently for about a minute until smooth.
Chill and roll dough: Roll the dough to 2mm thickness between two silicone baking mats. Freeze for 15 minutes while preparing baking mats and tart rings.
Cut and form tart shells: Remove top mat, use tart rings to cut 8 circles, placing them into rings. Cut 8 long strips for sides, press them into the rings to stick. Freeze tart cases for 1 hour.
Preheat oven and bake tart shells: Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Trim tart shells and bake for 20 minutes, then remove rings and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until golden. Let cool completely.
Prepare lemon curd filling: In a heatproof bowl over simmering water, whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, and sugar constantly. Cook 8-10 minutes until thickened like custard (~80°C/176°F). Strain, then incorporate room temperature butter chunks one by one, folding in lemon zest last. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to thicken.
Fill tart shells: Spoon lemon curd into cooled tart shells filling up to edges. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set.
Make Swiss meringue: Heat egg whites and sugar over simmering water, whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 70°C (158°F). Transfer to stand mixer, whip starting low then increasing to high speed. Add lemon juice after 1 minute and continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form (5-10 minutes).
Decorate tarts: Pipe or spoon Swiss meringue over lemon curd-filled tarts decoratively.
Optional decorations: Make colored meringue crumbs by baking colored Swiss meringue until crisp and crushing. For chocolate disks, temper white chocolate, color yellow, and cut small circles to garnish.

Notes

Use very cold butter for the crust to ensure a flaky texture.
Rolling dough between silicone mats helps with easy handling and prevents sticking.
Cooking lemon curd gently and whisking constantly avoids curdling the eggs.
Chilling tart shells before baking helps maintain shape and prevents shrinkage.
Swiss meringue must reach the correct temperature to fully dissolve sugar and achieve stability.
Refrigerate filled tarts to allow curd to set and flavors to meld.
Optional decorations add visual appeal but can be omitted.

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes baking + 10 minutes baking + 10 minutes stovetop lemon curd + 15 minutes stovetop meringue heating + 10 minutes whipping meringue
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Western/International