You’re going to think I like lemon… yet that’s not the case at all! But a few weeks ago, one of my friends ordered a lemon meringue tart from me, one of her favourite desserts. In fact, it’s far from the first time she’s eaten one of my lemon tarts! But I generally don’t like remaking the same recipes, I always need to try different ones in order to find THE recipe.
This time, I took inspiration from a great man, Pierre Hermé. It was by visiting the blog of Mercotte that I found this recipe. She made a few adjustments to it, which is why I’ve called it “lemon meringue tart inspired by Pierre Hermé”. The pâte sucrée is delicious, the cream is just tangy enough and the meringue brings a lovely touch of indulgence. I may have been a little heavy-handed with the meringue ^^ In any case, my friend and her family loved this version!
Ingredients & preparation
4 components · Complete recipe
Lemon Sweet Pastry
Ingredients
- 140 g (4.9 oz) softened butter
- 75 g (2.6 oz) icing sugar
- 25 g (0.9 oz) ground almonds
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
- 1 egg
- 250 g (8.8 oz) plain flour
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
1
Cream the softened butter with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer (or using a spatula), then add the icing sugar and lemon zest.
2
Add the egg, ground almonds, salt and flour. Do not overwork the dough.
3
Once the mixture is smooth, roll it out thinly between two sheets of baking paper.
4
Pre-cut a large circle the diameter of your tart ring, and a wide strip for the side.
5
Place the pre-cut pastry pieces in the freezer.
6
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
7
Place the tart ring directly on the pastry disc straight from the freezer, then immediately press the pre-cut strip around the inside of the ring. Work quickly — the pastry thaws fast and is much easier to handle while still slightly firm.
8
Prick the pastry base, cover with baking paper and fill with baking beans to prevent it from puffing up during baking.
9
Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
10
To prevent the pastry from going soggy on contact with the lemon cream, you have two options: brush the base with melted chocolate (dark, milk or white) using a pastry brush, or — as I did — brush it with a little beaten egg about 5 minutes before the end of baking.
Lemon Cream
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) sugar
- 200 g (7.1 oz) butter
- 160 ml (5.4 fl oz) lemon juice
- 4 eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- zest of 1 lime
Instructions
1
In a bowl, combine the caster sugar with the lemon and lime zests. Leave to rest for 10 minutes so the flavours infuse.
2
Add the lemon juice and the whole eggs, then thicken the mixture over a bain-marie, whisking constantly.
3
Remove the bowl from the bain-marie. Allow the mixture to cool to 35°C / 95°F, then blend without incorporating any air, adding the softened butter gradually.
4
Pour the cream into the pastry case and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Italian Meringue
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 125 g (4.4 oz) sugar
- 50 ml (1.7 fl oz) water
Instructions
1
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and leave the whites at room temperature for 1 hour. Pour the whites into a bowl.
2
Put the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat with a sugar thermometer in place.
3
Begin whisking the egg whites on the lowest speed to build them up slowly while the syrup heats.
4
When the syrup reaches 110°C / 225°F, increase the whisk to full speed to get firm, stiff whites.
5
When the syrup reaches 118°C / 244°F (do not exceed 120°C / 250°F), pour it in a thin stream onto the whites while whisking at full speed. Once all the syrup is incorporated, continue whisking until the meringue is completely cold. This can take up to 10 minutes.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Instructions
1
Fill a piping bag fitted with a large Saint-Honoré nozzle with the Italian meringue.
2
Pipe the meringue over the chilled lemon tart.
3
Brown the meringue with a blowtorch (take care — it goes very quickly, and you should not hold the flame too close).
4
Keep the lemon meringue tart in the fridge until ready to serve.
5
Here is the petits fours version:
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