This lemon meringue tart is the perfect refreshing spring dessert you need. It is made with a tart shell, homemade lemon curd and topped with a delicious meringue frosting. You can simplify the process by using store-bought tart dough instead. You can also customise this tart and pair the creamy lemon curd with some freshly whipped heavy cream or even torch the meringue. This recipe makes one 8-inch tart but you can always customise it to make three mini lemon meringue tarts or tartlets. This is the perfect dessert for any occasion or just to share with friends and family!
Ingredients you’ll need for lemon tart:
- Unsalted Butter: You will need a few tablespoons of softened butter for the crust to help it form a dough. It is very important to have your butter at room temperature. You can ensure this by lightly pressing your finger on the block of butter. It should slightly leave an imprint. I also prefer to use unsalted butter because salted butters have varying amounts of salt content in them and it is always a good idea to add it on your own and avoid your bakes from being too salty.
- Eggs: Use large eggs and bring them to room temperature before mixing in. Eggs strengthen the binding of your bakes and also add moisture. Having your eggs at room temperature makes it easier to incorporate them and allow them to mix thoroughly in your dough. A good way of doing this is by letting them sit in a bowl filled with room temperature water for around 10 minutes or until they come down to room temperature.
- Almond Extract: Almond extract goes very well with this filling. However you can always use equal quantities vanilla instead.
- All-purpose flour: I highly recommend weighing all your ingredients using a kitchen scale for accurate recipe results. If you’re using cups, don’t scoop your cup into the flour. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Lemon Juice: I always prefer using freshly squeezed lemon juice for its freshness & best natural flavour to make lemon curd. However, you can even use store bought one instead if necessary.
- Granulated Sugar: You will need this to make the lemon curd filling for this tart. Along with adding sweetness, sugar helps to give the creamy texture to it.
- Lemon zest: Freshly grated lemon zest adds depth of flavour to your lemon curd. You must not leave this out!
FAQ
Place the cubed butter and lemon zest in a large bowl.
Place a medium saucepan filled with two inches of water over medium low heat. In a medium bowl that serves as a double boiler, whisk together sugar, eggs, egg yolks and salt to combined. Slowly add the lemon juice and stir to incorporate.
Place the bowl over the pot with water and heat the curd over medium low heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Be sure to stir the curd evenly as it cooks, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. The curd is done when the mixture is thick and the temperature measures 165 degrees F using an instant read thermometer.
Remove the curd from the heat and pour it through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the butter and lemon zest.
Whisk to combine well, stirring until all of the butter is melted and the curd is smooth.
Now for the hard part, to get these perfectly cut edges you’re going to have to wait awhile for the tart to cool. I know, I know. It’s basically torture but you’ll get through it. And believe me when I say that it’s well worth the wait. Cool the tart on a wire rack until room temperature and then place it in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Bright and tart flavors are always best served cold if you ask me, so slice this beauty up just before serving. This is so refreshing and it makes for a pretty presentation at the table.
You can always bake this recipe ahead of time. It freezes & refrigerates very well in an airtight container. Make sure to thaw the slices if you’re freezing them. However, I won’t recommend storing them for very long as you will also end up with a soggy tart shell base due to the lemon curd. It is best if you instead make the creamy lemon curd filling, meringue and shell ahead of time and assemble it when you serve.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST mini Lemon meringue TART:
- Make your own crust. Yes you can easily run a trip down to the store to buy a tart dough. But trust me, this one is so easy and flavourful. You’ll need just a handful of ingredients that you probably have in your pantry and 30 minutes of chilling time before you can bake it.
- Use the very best ingredients. Since this tart requires so few ingredients, it’s best to bet on the good stuff! Use the very best and fresh ingredients to get the most out of this recipe. Put in those extra 5 minutes and get your hands on freshly squeezed lemon juice. Truly, there’s nothing like it.
- Allow the crust to cool completely. Once the tart shell has baked, allow it to cool completely in the pan before flipping it out. Trust me there’s nothing worse than kneading, rolling and baking the dough only for your tart shell to crumble and break. Allow it to cool completely & grease your pan properly before baking so it comes out with ease. I highly recommend using a non stick spray with a combination of both flour and oil.
- Let it chill. Even though this lemon curd tart is going to be so tempting to dig into right away, they taste the best once chilled. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for atleast an hour before serving and topping with heavy whipped cream or meringue.
HOW TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM THIS RECIPE?
All of the recipes on the blog are thoroughly tested multiple times and carefully designed so that anyone can reproduce these delicious baked good in their own kitchen and enjoy them to the fullest. The only way to make this possible is when anyone can exactly replicate the measurements and temperatures.
- In order to standardise the way ingredients are measured, I highly recommend that you weigh them in grams. Volume measurements are nearly not as accurate and have a lot of scope for errors. To precisely be able to replicate the recipes, all you will need is a kitchen scale!
- Every oven heats up differently. Your oven might be over heating or under heating by around 50 degrees or more and you might not even know. In order to ensure that you are baking at the right temperatures, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer!
If you would still like to bake using volume measurements, I mentioned those below. However, I primarily test my recipes in grams and cannot promise the best results if you do so. Trust me, once you’ll start using these tools you’d never want to go back.
I hope you’ll enjoy this lemon curd tart this Spring and don’t forget to bookmark this recipe for later. This pretty & delicious tart would make the perfect delight to share with your friends & family!
Happy Baking!
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Lemon Meringue Tart
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: one 8 or 9 inch tart 1x
Description
This lemon meringue tart is the perfect refreshing spring dessert you need. It is made with a tart shell, homemade lemon curd and topped with a delicious meringue frosting.
Ingredients
TART DOUGH
- 56g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 94g (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon Curd
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 80ml (⅓ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 56g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
Meringue Frosting
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
TART DOUGH
- In a large bowl, add the unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg yolk. Beat again until combined. The mixture will now be light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl mix together the all purpose flour and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until the mixture is crumbly. Using your hands or a mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, knead the dough until combined. You will have a smooth dough at the end.
- Cover the dough tightly with a plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for atleast 30 minutes or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and grease a 8 or 9 inch tart pan with a nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Once chilled, allow the dough to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes. It should be cool yet pliable when touched. Using a tiny bit of flour or between two pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough out using a rolling pin to about ¼ to ⅛ inch thick.
- Roll the dough out into a ¼ inch thick circle using a rolling pin of diameter around 2-inch larger than the base of your tart pan.
- Gently lift and press the dough circle into the greased tart pan. Press the dough into the sides and trim the dough hanging out by running the back of a knife around the top edge of the pan. Fill in any gaps or cracks by pressing in bits of dough.
- Line the dough with a small piece of parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or lentils.
- Blind bake the tart for about 15 minutes or until it has golden brown edges.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven and line the browned edges with foil. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Return the baking tray to the oven and bake the tart for around 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the tray and transfer to a wire rack. Let the shell cool completely before removing it from the pan.
LEMON CURD
- Place the cubed butter and lemon zest in a large bowl.
- Place a medium saucepan filled with two inches of water over medium low heat. In a medium bowl that serves as a double boiler, whisk together sugar, eggs and salt until combined. Slowly add the lemon juice and stir to incorporate.
- Place the bowl over the pot with water and heat the curd over medium low heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Be sure to stir the curd evenly as it cooks, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. The curd is done when the mixture is thick and the temperature measures 165ºF using an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the curd from the heat and pour it through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the butter and lemon zest.
- Whisk to combine well, stirring until all of the butter is melted and the curd is smooth.
- Pour the curd into the prepare tart crust and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Be sure the oven temperature was lowered to 325ºF. The center should not be liquid but set with a slight jiggle when you wobble the pan. Do not over bake.
- Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack until room temperature.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the egg white until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar and slowly the granulated sugar and beat until you get stiff peaks.
- Transfer meringue to a piping bag fitted with star tip and pipe on top of the lemon tart as desired.
- Place tart in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
- Slice and serve cold. Dust with confectioner’s sugar if desired.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Spring, Lemon
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: mini lemon meringue tart, mini lemon meringue tarts, lemon curd tart
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