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Close-up of mini lemon meringue tarts on a white plate, garnished with fresh mint and lemon slices, highlighting the golden meringue topping.
Alyssa

Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts

Bite-sized Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts made from a buttery pastry shell filled with tangy lemon curd and covered with torched meringue.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 20 tarts
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Calories: 220
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g unsalted butter
  • 100 g superfine sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 350 g cake flour
  • 20 g unsalted butter (melted, for brushing tart tins)
  • 2 tins (385g per tin) condensed milk
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 80 ml lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 200 g superfine sugar (for meringue)

Method
 

  1. Add the butter and sugar to a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is well combined and homogenous.
  2. First, add the whole egg to the creamed mixture with the food processor running, and pulse until combined. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and pulse again.
  3. Sift together the flour and salt and add this flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture all at once. Pulse until a dough forms, do not overmix.
  4. Remove the dough from the bowl, cover it in a sheet of plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 140°C (290°F) and brush 20 mini tart tins with melted butter.
  6. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of ½ cm using a rolling pin.
  7. Cut discs of the rolled pastry slightly larger than the tart tins, place these pastry discs into the buttered tart tins, and use your fingertips to gently press the pastry into the base of the tin and up the sides of the tins.
  8. Line each pastry tin with parchment paper and fill this with uncooked rice or pie weights. Blind bake the shells in a preheated oven for 15 minutes until a light golden brown. Set aside.
  9. In a large mixing bowl add the condensed milk, egg yolks, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine.
  10. Spoon the lemon mixture into the pre-baked pastry shells, be sure to fill them almost to the top of the pastry shell.
  11. Bake the filled lemon tarts in a preheated oven at 160°C (320°F) for 15 minutes or until the lemon filling is just set.
  12. Remove the tarts from the oven and allow the tarts to cool for 15 minutes in their tins before removing them from their tins and allowing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
  13. Add the egg whites and sugar to a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.
  14. With the egg white mixture set over a double boiler, whisk continuously until the sugar has melted. Check this by rubbing a bit of the meringue mixture between your fingertips to ensure there are no sugar granules.
  15. Once melted add the meringue mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at medium-high speed for 10 minutes until stiff peaks, the meringue must be thick and glossy.
  16. Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain round 1cm nozzle with the meringue mixture. Pipe a generous amount of meringue onto each tart, and use a kitchen blow torch to torch the meringue until toasty. Serve, and enjoy!