Before going to pastry school I made many lemon tarts and just could not figure out why it would always seep. I would spend a lot of time to research it until I bumped into an article that scientifically analyzed the cooking process. It did not answer my question.
The key is to choose the right technique to prepare a Meringue. There are 3 different ones: French Meringue, Swiss Meringue, and Italian Meringue.
In this recipe an Italian meringue is prepared: The egg whites get whipped up together with a boiling syrup that cooks the egg whites during whipping and gives it a very smooth, creamy and stable consistency.
The lemon crémeux is made with white chocolate not only to balance the acidity of the lemon, but also give it an additional flavor and texture. The cocoa butter in the white chocolate gives it a smooth and rich consistency.
Lemon Meringue Tart
Preparation in Advance
Equipment
- Tart ring (Ø20cm)
- Piping bag
- St. Honoré piping tip (optional)
- Blowtorch
Ingredients
For the Pâte Sucrée
- 108 g all purpose flour
- 60 g butter
- 35 g sugar
- 5 g vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 20 g eggs
For the Lemon curd
- 150 g lemon juice
- 150 g eggs
- 48 g sugar
- 120 g white Chocolate Couverture, 33% Cocoa Butter (chopped into small pieces)
- 30 g cocoa butter
For the Italian Meringue
- 75 g egg white
- 150 g sugar
- 50 g water
Other
- 12 pcs raspberries
- some lime zest
Instructions
Pate sucrée
- 1. Blend flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, butter and salt until it has a sandy texture with little pieces of butter.
- 2. Add the egg and blend just until combined.
- 3. Wrap into plastic foil and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- 4. Knead the dough to a pliable consistency and line the tart ring, poke some holes with a fork.5. Store in the freezer for 30 minutes.6. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan ventilation).7. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool.
Lemon Curd
- 1. Combine the eggs with the sugar in a bowl. 2. Heat the lemon juice in a pan until boiling. 3. Add the lemon juice to the egg mixture bit by bit, gradually adjusting the temperature.4. Transfer the mixture back to the pot, boil for a minute stirring constantly.5. Add the chopped white chocolate couverture and the cocoa butter. Blend.6. Transfer into the tart base. Store in fridge for an hour.
Italian Meringue
- 1. Combine the sugar and the water in a pot. Boil to 118°C.2. When the sugar syrup reached 110°C, start whisking the egg whites to soft peak in the stand mixer.
3. Add the syrup at 118°C in a very thin stream gradually to the egg whites while whisking on medium speed.4. Whisk the Meringue on high speed to stiff peaks.Since this is a relatively small amout of egg whites, you need to lift the bowl a bit at the beginning of the whisking so that the whisk can reach the egg white.
Finishing
- 1. Pipe the Italian Meringue onto the cooled Crème Citron.2. Carefully roast the edges of the Meringue with a blow torch.
- 3. Add some lime zest.4. Finish with the raspberries.
- Did you like this recipe? I would love for you to leave me a comment!
Liebe Jamila, ich freu mich so…wann beendest du das Rezept? Liebe Grüße aus Hamburg, Sabine
My favorite!!!! Looking forward for my birthday when my mum will make your recipe for me. 😍
Please share a picture. I would love to know how it turned out! 🙂