Saturday, February 13, 2010

Lemon Meringue Tart

Lemon Meringue Tart 014

I made a Lemon Meringue Tart this morning while I was waiting for everyone else in my house to wake up.  The dog and I seem to be on the same schedule lately and so up I was a little before 7 AM on this fine Saturday morning.  The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Barefoot In Paris, by the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten.  The recipe can be found on page 183 of this great cookbook.

Ina’s recipe does everything from scratch including the crust.  I skipped that part as I always have much better results when I use a Pillsbury pre-made refrigerated crust.  This is a major short cut.  I LOVE short cuts!

Lemon Meringue Tart 012

Don’t forget to put some slashes in the crust before you bake it so that it doesn’t bubble up in the oven.  After baking off the crust, I made the lemon curd filling while the crust cooled.  When the lemon curd cools to room temperature, you can make the meringue.  Spread the lemon curd into the crust and cover with the meringue making sure to seal all the edges around the top so that it doesn’t shrink when you bake it.  Then it is just a matter of baking in the oven for a few minutes to color the meringue a beautiful brown color.

Lemon Meringue Tart 028

Here it is cooling down outside on my deck!  It’s colder than my refrigerator out there.

Lemon Meringue Tart 027

Look how pretty and brown the peaks are on that meringue after it comes out of the oven.

Lemon Meringue Tart 030

Okay, here she is back in the house.  I wouldn’t want a bird to come along and get the first taste!

So here is how I made this “Masterpiece of Lemon-ness”.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Prepare your favorite pie and tart crust or do what I did and use a pre-made refrigerated crust and bake it off in a pie tart pan.

Lemon Curd Filling

1 stick of butter

1 1/2 cups of sugar

4 extra large eggs

3  extra large egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)

Zest of one lemon (I used a Micoplane Grater to get all of the zest really fine)  (Ina’s recipe calls for the zest of 6 to 8 lemons.  I only had one and believe me one made it plenty lemony)

1/2 cup lemon juice.  ( I juiced the lemon after I zested it and it was a little less than the whole 1/2 cup called for in the recipe.  So, I just added some Real Lemon Juice from the bottle till I had my 1/2 cup.) 

1/8 tsp Kosher salt

Cream the butter and sugar.  On low speed, add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, and then add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt.  (Ina tells us that it will look curdled and it does so don’t worry.)

Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan and cook over medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until thick, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  Whisk briskly when it starts to thicken and cook over low heat for a minute or two, whisking constantly.  Do not allow it to boil.  (It will be 175 degrees on an instant read thermometer. )  Pour into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Meringue

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Whip the egg whites, cream of tartar, and 1/4 tsp of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed until frothy.  With the mixer running slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar and beat the meringue until it is thick and shiny, about 2 minutes.   Fill your baked tart shell with the cooled lemon filling and then gently spread the meringue over top of the lemon filling and be sure to seal all the edges with the meringue so that it does not shrink and pull away from the sides when you bake it off. (Ina piped her meringue on to her tart but I am a novice so that is a lesson for another day. :)  But feel free to pipe away!)   Bake the tart in oven to brown the meringue for about 3 to 5 minutes and check on it at 3 minutes to make sure it doesn’t over brown. 

Bon Appetit!

9 comments:

www.thewhitefarmhouse2.blogspot.com said...

Oh! This is one of my favs! Lemon meringue! Feed me lemon meringue and I will do anything you want including washing windows! Yours looks fantastic. I am going to try this very soon. Thanks!

The Daily Connoisseur said...

I love this cookbook- All of Ina's books are the best and this looks especially yummy!

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

My mouth is watering for a piece of this delish lemon merinque tart.
My Grandmother used to make the best lemon merinque pies. I remember, as a little girl, just sitting in the kitchen and watcing her make them.
Thanks for such a sweet post.

hugs
Sissie

Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings... said...

OOOohhh!Girl...Ina would be proud!
I'm cooking my way through Ina's cookbook this winter and lovin it.
She certainly is a Butter girl!!!!
Enjoy your tart, Looks fabulous!
xoxo~Kathy @ Sweet Up-North Mornings...

julie king said...

oh my, lisa! that looks delicious. your meringue peaks are perfect!!

Erin said...

I feel like you and I have some psychic, food-and-thrifting related connection.

Yes to this. Just, yes.

CosmoGirl Carla said...

Looks yummy, Lisa! Don't 'cha just love Ina. I'm all the way with ya 'bout the Pillsbury Pie crust. That's one of the few things I've conceded on not doing well - pie crust. No worries when store bought is just as good, right?!

Thanks for sharing!

Tammy Ellington said...

Yummy!!! and I love the cake stand... Don't you just love finding beauty in such small ways!

Fifi Flowers said...

PRETTY dessert and flowers!