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Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts

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I adore tiny desserts, they just seem so decadent without being excessive!  I made these mini lemon meringue tarts for a brunch the other day, and they were wonderful.  The crust was perfectly crisp, with a  tangy lemon curd filling and a sweet meringue topping.  The party was early in the morning, so I made the pie-crust cups and the lemon curd the night before.   When I woke up, I pulled the egg whites out of the fridge to warm up while I had my coffee.  A little later I whipped the egg whites, spooned the re-heated lemon curd into the cups, pipped the meringue topping and baked.  Not too bad!

This recipe is broken down into 3 steps: the pie crust, the lemon curd and the meringue.  See my other post about making lemon curd, my suggested link to pie crust, and scroll down to see the recipe for the meringue.

The Pie Crust 
I made two batches of my favorite pie crust, which yielded about 40 mini-muffin cups.  One of these days I’ll do a post on my pie-crust, but for now, this pie-crust tutorial is really great.  Their recipe doesn’t need to be doubled, though.  After chilling the dough, I rolled it out about 1/4 inch thick and cut circles using a 2 inch biscuit cutter.

Mini Tart Crusts

Press the circles into the mini-muffin tins evenly.  Dock them with a fork and let the dough rest again by chilling in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Docked mini tart crustWhile the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 400F.  Immediately reduce them temperature to 375F when you put them into the oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until they are golden brown.  Remove and let cool.  I kept them in the pans over night because I baked them again in the morning.

The Meringue
The egg whites will develop more volume if you whip them at room temperature, so try that.

  • 3 egg whites, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of cream of tartar
  1. Whip egg whites with salt and cream of tartar
  2. Gradually add sugar
  3. Whip on “high” until the meringue is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks.
  4. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with an “open star” tip.

 

The Lemon Curd
As I mentioned, I made the lemon curd the night before, wrapped and chilled it, and re-heated in the morning.  Meringue likes to be placed on hot filling, this way it cooks evenly from both sides. Spoon the curd into the pastry cups.

Lemon Tarts

 

Pipe the meringue on top of the warm curd.  Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes, or until the meringue topping is golden brown.  Cool and serve.  Enjoy!

 

Jessica
Jessica
Take a peek into my world of Eating, Gardening, Making and Mothering, authentically and with meaning. Thanks for visiting!
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