Crispy base, fruity lemon curd filling and sugar-sweet meringue as a topping: These lemon tartlets are not only an eye-catcher on every coffee table, they also taste irresistibly good. Once started, we can’t stop snacking on this recipe. Instead of several small tartlets, you can also prepare one large lemon tart with meringue, if you like. Our instructions given in the recipe for the basic shortcrust pastry and lemon curd recipes will also help you with baking. Madeleine & Flo wish you lots of fun with the recipe.
FOR THE SHORTCRUST PASTRY:
140 g butter, room temperature
70 g powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 egg yolk (size M)
210 grams of flour
FOR THE LEMON CURD:
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
230 grams of sugar
200 ml lemon juice
Zest of 1 organic lemon
200 g butter, cold
For the meringue:
approx. 4 egg whites (120g)
240 grams of sugar
PREPARATION:
Prepare the shortcrust pastry according to the basic recipe and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour (an hour is better). Take the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and flatten it out with your hand. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out to about 3mm thick. Cut out circles slightly larger than the tartlet tins. Line the moulds with the dough and press down lightly on the bottom and edges. Cut off the excess dough with a sharp knife. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the lemon curd according to the basic recipe and leave it to cool. To prepare the lemon tartlets, you need a little less lemon curd than indicated in the basic recipe. In this case, stick to the quantities given here in the list of ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 190°C hot air. Prick the bottom of the tartelettes with a fork, cover with baking paper and weigh down with the dried legumes. Blind bake the tartlets for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the parchment paper and beans and bake for a few more minutes, if needed, until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. Take the finished tartlets out of the oven, let them cool down and carefully remove them from the mould.
Fill the tartelettes with lemon curd and chill. Leftover lemon curd can be stored in screw-top or mason jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
For the meringue, mix the egg and sugar in a mixing bowl and heat over a water bath, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Beat the lukewarm mixture with a hand mixer or food processor for about 10 minutes until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Fill into a piping bag with any nozzle and decorate the lemon tartlets as you wish. Before serving, carefully flame the meringue with a flambé burner.
