Lemon Meringue Tart

No ratings yet

This Lemon Meringue Tart is everything a lemon dessert should be - bright, refreshing, sweet and tart - an irresistible treat! With a crisp, buttery shortcrust, a luscious lemon filling, and a toasted meringue topping, it’s a stunning dessert that tastes just as amazing as it looks!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword lemon meringue tart

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Chilling and Resting Time 2 15

Total Time 3 45

Servings servings

Calories 652kcal

Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

Shortcrust Pastry

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
1 large egg
1 ½ tablespoons cold water

Lemon Filling

4 lemons zested and juiced
⅓ cup cornstarch
1 ½ cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks save the whites for meringue

Meringue

4 egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar can use granulated - see notes
lemon slices for garnish
lemon thyme for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Shortcrust Pastry

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, powdered sugar and salt and mix together until combined.
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour, ¼ cup powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
Add the cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture. It should look like mostly fine breadcrumbs but a few larger pieces of butter are ok.
½ cup unsalted butter
Add the egg and water to the mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined.
1 large egg, 1 ½ tablespoons cold water
Bring the dough together with your hands and briefly knead it in the mixing bowl. If the dough looks and feels very crumbly you can add a few more drops of cold water - just enough so that the dough comes together easily into a ball.
Lightly flour your surface and turn the dough out on to it. Cover the dough ball in plastic wrap then use your hands or rolling pin to press it into a flat disc shape which will make rolling out the dough easier later on. Put the dough into the refrigerator for one hour.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Lightly flour your surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 3mm in thickness. It should be a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
Carefully transfer the dough into a 9 inch tart pan with a removable base. Use your fingers to press the dough onto the bottom and into the edges of the pan. Use a very sharp knife to trim the edges of the pastry then prick the dough all over the bottom with a fork.
Add a sheet of baking parchment and fill the entire tart pan with pie weights or uncooked rice.
Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes then remove the pie weights/rice and baking parchment and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the pastry looks pale golden brown and feels dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to completely cool.

To Make the Lemon Filling

In a small bowl, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and cornstarch. Thoroughly mix until there are no lumps remaining.
4 lemons, ⅓ cup cornstarch
Add the water to a medium sized pan set over a high heat. Bring the water to the boil then add the lemon mixture. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir the mixture continuously. When it has thickened remove it from the heat and set aside.
1 ½ cups water
In a mixing bowl, add the sugar and egg yolks. Mix until completely smooth then gradually add it to the lemon mixture gently mixing as you do so. Return to the heat and slowly bring to a low boil. It will take around 5 minutes for the mixture to visibly thicken but can take longer. When the mixture is very thick, remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes before pouring into the pastry shell. Refrigerate for one hour or until the filling is set.
1 cup granulated sugar, 4 egg yolks

To Make the Meringue

In the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites. Beat on a low speed at first until frothy bubbles have formed then increase the speed to medium and beat until the egg whites are at soft peaks.
4 egg whites
Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time allowing it to be fully mixed in before adding more. When you have added all of the sugar, stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl then increase the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes.
1 cup superfine sugar
After 5 minutes check the texture of the meringue between your fingers. You should not be able to feel grains of sugar - if you can keep mixing. At this stage the meringue should look bright white, thick and glossy.
When the meringue is ready it’s time to pipe it on top of the filling. We used 3 piping bags fitted with various sizes of open star nozzles, but you can use whatever you have. Use the piping bag to add swirls of meringue on top of the tart. When you’ve finished, use a chef’s blow torch to scorch the meringue. Alternatively you can place the tart under a hot broiler for a couple of minutes.
For a final flourish, add some slices of lemon and sprigs of lemon thyme.
lemon slices, lemon thyme
Slice, serve and enjoy!

Notes

Storage Information

Make Ahead - Once this tart has been fully assembled it should be eaten on the day it is made as the meringue topping will start to weep after a few hours. If you would like to make this dessert ahead of time you can make the shortcrust pastry the day before you make the lemon filling and meringue.
Refrigerator - If you absolutely must save leftovers of the tart, you can place it in an airtight container or loosely cover it with foil or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just note that it won't taste as good the next day!

You can use regular white sugar in your meringue, but it will take longer to dissolve into the egg whites. Superfine sugar speeds up the process, it’s my preference for meringue making.

Skip the shortcrust pastry and use a graham cracker crust for a quicker, fuss-free option. It adds a delicious crunch and pairs perfectly with the lemon filling!

Please see post above for more information, recipe tips and frequently asked questions.

Nutrition