Recipe: Lemon Tart Filling and Meringue

This is the lemon curd filling and French meringue recipe, courtesy of Chef Christophe (chef instructor at http://www.nwcav.com/).  It is absolutely delicious and one of the best I’ve ever tasted, the ratio of tartness to sweetness is just perfect.

LEMON TART (Yields 4 portions)

Due to the extensive length of explanation for the Sweet Paste (for the tart dough), I will only post the recipe which was used in class that evening: instructions can be found easily on internet.

Recipe yields 620g – enough for 2 10″ pies

100 g Sugar, 200 g Butter, 1 whole Egg Yolk, 300 g Cake Flour, 1 g Vanilla Essence, 1 Pinch Lemon Zest

Lemon Curd Filling: 

Juice of 4 lemons, Juice of 1 orange, 2 whole egg, 4 egg yolks, 6 Tablespoons Sugar, 4 teaspoons cornstarch, 6 Tablespoon cold butter, cubed, Zest of 2 lemon (don’t get to the pith), Zest of 1 orange (no pith please)

Method:

– In saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch and orange juice, ensuring you have no lumps

– Add lemon juice, zests, stir and stir in eggs (must be room temperature)

– Whisk on medium heat until thickened, remove from heat.

– Stir in butter (set the custard and this gives it flavour)

– Cool, and fill in blind baked tarts (prepared separately)

– Chill overnight.  To serve, top with meringue and torch (be careful!!)

Remember, Patience is Virtue! and no Scorching!

Meringue (French meringue)

2 Egg whites (75g), 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

-Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peak

– Slowly (like snowfall), add the sugar while whisking.  Use within 1 hour.

– Use Piping bag to decorate the tart with meringue; creme brulee torch use to “burn” the meringue, remember to follow the instructions and exercise extra caution!