Lemon meringue tartlets

Chocolate crust: 

• 150g butter, softened
• 2g salt
• 90g powdered sugar
• 30gr almond meal
• 1 egg
• 230g all-purpose flour
• 20gr unsweetened cocoa powder

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Lemon curd:

• 120ml (about 3 lemons)
• 4 large eggs
• 100gr icing sugar
• 40gr unsalted butter
• Optional: zest of 2 lemons

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Meringue:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 4 large eggs whites
• ½ tsp of cream of tartar or 1 tsp of lemon juice

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Prepare the tart shells:

Note: I used tart rings of 31/6 inches (about 8cm) diameter. This recipe yields 12 tart shells.

1. Combine flour and cocoa powder
2. Cream together butter, salt, sugar, almond meal and the egg.
3. Add in the flour mixture in two times
4. Once the dough forms a smooth ball, make a slab, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for 1h in the fridge
5. Take the dough out and cut it in half. Put halfback in the fridge while working with the other half. Roll it in a 3mm thicksheet.
6. Preheat the oven at 350F / 180C
7. Grease the inside of the tart rings and fillthem:
8. Either cut larger disks than your tart rings and then place them loosely inside the rings, carefully apply the pastry around the edges of the ring and make sure there is no gap between the bottom and the edge. Or, using the ring cut out the base of the tart, then cut strings of dough larger than the edge of the rings and long enough to cover the inside edge of the ring
9. Trim off the excess dough and blind bake for20min, then 10 min without the weights
10. Let cool the tart shells on a wire rack. You can use the shells filling them with the lemon curd once at room temperature of store them in a container for up to 1 week.

 Prepare the lemon curd (yields for 6 tartlets):

1. Prepare the juice: press the lemons and filter through a mesh to remove pulp and remaining seeds.
2. Add the lemon zest
3. In a saucepan, mix together sugar and eggs. Addin lemon juice and heat over medium/high heat stirring constantly. The mixturewill start to thicken and get the consistency of a mayonnaise.
4. At this point, keep heating the curd whilestirring for a couple of additional minutes. Total cooking time is about10-15min
5. Remove the pan from the heat, add in the butterand mix well until melted.  If desiredyou can strain the curd to make sure there are no lumps.
6. Let the curd cool down at room temperature.
7. At this point you can either pour the curd in  jar for later use (can be kept 2 weeks in the fridge) or use it now for instance pouring it in tart shells andlet the curd set for a couple of hours in the fridge.

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Prepare the meringue

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1. Add the sugar and water in a pan and heat.
2. Once boiling, start whipping the egg whites in a stand mixer
3. Once the egg whites are foamy, add the cream of tartar or lemon juice
4. When the syrup reaches 240F / 115C, you need eggwhites to have reached soft peaks consistency
5. Slowly pour the syrup in a drizzle in the sides of the mixing bowl as it is mixing the egg whites
6. Increase the speed to high until meringue reaches firm peaks consistency. The meringue is ready to be piped or spread in the tarts.

Assembly:

1. Pour the lemon curd in the tart shells
2. Pipe the meringue on the tartlets or the tart
3. Torch the meringue or broil in the oven for a couple of minutes to reach the desired coloration
4. Let the tartlets rest in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving
5. Enjoy!

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Note:

• You can prepare the tart shells and the lemon curd in advance
• The zest allow to deepen the lemon flavor and adds tanginess, wash thoroughly the lemons or use organic lemons. If you want that flavor but don’t like the texture with the zests, you can strain the curd after adding the butter and before cooling.

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