Mini lemon meringue tart

I had to make a treat that reminded me of summer because the last couple of days have been filled with snow.  Usually in April Utah has a couple of snow storms, but this storm was heavy and went on for three days.  The storm was more like a winter xmas storm rather than a small spring storm.  So far in my garden I have planted garlic, onion, and potato.  All of these will be fine, I hope.  The snow was kind of heavy so my poor Garlic shoots had to deal with the snow pushing them down.  Right now it is about 38 degrees F, to cold to put my seedlings out and harden them off.

Eating this tart made me feel better and for a moment it felt like summer filled with sprinklers, cold lemonade, and fresh cut grass........

note:  I used a set of six 4 inch round tart pans, if you just want to make one large tart, use a 10" tart pan.

Sweet Tart Pastry
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
31/2 ounces cold unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
2-3 tsp iced water

Filling:
6 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
3/4 cup heavy cream

Italian Meringue
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 cup egg whites (about 4 eggs)

First make the pastry.  Add your flour, sugar, and butter and mix them with a pastry cutter, or food processor.  Mix until the butter is thoroughly mixed and it resembles corn meal.  Then add the egg yolk and 2 tsp of ice water.  Mix until the dough comes together.  If it isn't coming together add a little more water 1 tsp at a time.  Make sure you add just enough water to allow the dough to come together.

Shape into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  After it has chilled take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into six even pieces.

Roll out the dough until it is slightly larger then your tart pan.......










Using your rolling pin, gently roll the dough onto it...........

.... drape it over your tart pan.............

......and then press your dough into the pan.  At the top give it a small crust so the meringue has something to grab on to.  Place them on your baking sheet and cover with plastic.  Let them sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Using parchment paper and beans (or pie weights) bake the tarts for about 15 minutes, or until they are slightly brown.  I have some beans that I use every time I make tarts or pie.  You can use them over and over again, just don't try to eat them later because they will not taste good.  When the tart shells are done baking turn the oven down to 300 degrees and let the tarts sit out and slightly cool while you make the custard.





For the custard, get a meduim mixing bowl and a whisk.  It is better to use a whisk because you don't want your custard to get foamy from being over beaten, you just want to mix it until it is smooth and everything is mixed evenly together.  First add the eggs and sugar.  Then add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and heavy cream.  A trick to get more juice out of your lemon is to roll the lemon on your counter top with your palm gently pressing down on it.  I used the three lemons I had used for their peel.  Three lemons almost made enough juice so I topped it off with store bought lemon juice.
Mix all together and pour it into a pitcher so it is easy to pour into the tarts.

Pour the custard into the shells and bake for about 35-40 minutes.  I set my timer to 25 minutes because I wanted to start my Italian meringue about 10 minutes before I pull the tarts out of the oven.  This is because the custard needs to be hot when your meringue is placed on the pie.  This makes the meringue less prone to shrinking or weeping.  It doesn't really effect the overall taste, just the presentation.

For the meringue beat your egg whites until they are foamy and then add the salt, and cream of tartar.

Beat this mixture on high until it forms soft peaks.  While this is mixing, put the sugar and water in a sauce pan and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the temperature is about 235 degrees F.  When the sugar is done, put your mixer on low and slowly pour in the sugar, try to avoid the wire whisk.  After the sugar has been poured in, mix on medium high until the meringue has cooled down.

When your tarts are down put the meringue on top, making sure it connects with the crust.  I piped mine on but that isn't necessary, just use a small spatula, it all depends on what you want the end product to look like.

To brown the meringue put your oven on a low broil and place the pies in the lower middle rack.  Watch them carefully because they will brown fast and you don't want them to burn!