MERINGUE PIE
WHAT IS IT?
Rich shortcrust pastry filled with lemon curd set cold and Italian meringue coloured using a kitchen blowtorch.
TIME TO MAKE
Preparation: 1 hour
Cooking: 30 minutes
Resting: 1 hour
Refrigeration: 30 minutes
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
24 cm dessert ring
Piping bag
St Honoré piping nozzle
Kitchen blowtorch
VARIATIONS
Traditional meringue topping: pipe using a fluted piping nozzle.
Simple meringue topping: spread using a spatula.
Lime meringue pie: replace the lemons with limes (same weight of juice).
Yuzu meringue pie: replace the lemons with yuzus (same weight of juice).
TRICKY ASPECTS
Cooking the pastry
Adding and colouring the meringue
TECHNIQUES TO MASTER
Colouring with a kitchen blowtorch
ORGANISATION
Rich shortcrust pastry – curd – meringue – assembly
SERVES 8
1 SYRUP
100 g water
50 g caster sugar
2 RICH SHORTCRUST PASTRY
110 g butter
80 g icing sugar
50 g egg (1 egg)
1 g fine salt
200 g plain flour
20 g almond meal
3 LEMON CURD
4 g leaf gelatine
140 g lemon juice and zest (from about 7 lemons)
200 g egg (4 eggs)
160 g caster sugar
80 g butter
4 ITALIAN MERINGUE
40 g water
125 g caster sugar
50 g egg white
1 Make the rich shortcrust pastry. Take the pastry out of the refrigerator 30 minutes in advance. On a bench top dusted with flour, roll out the pastry to 2 mm thickness and aerate it (Pastry tips). Grease a 24 cm dessert ring with butter and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Line the ring with the pastry (Pastry tips).
2 Preheat the oven to 170°C. Trim off the surplus pastry with a knife or by rolling the rolling pin over the top (Pastry tips). Prick the bottom of the tart and/or prepare to bake it blind, as a precaution (Pastry tips).
3 Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully lift the bottom of the tart shell to check if it is cooked: it should be uniformly coloured.
4 Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Zest the lemons using a vegetable peeler, removing any white pith if necessary (Colourings, Flavours & Nuts) then cut these pieces into thin strips 2 mm wide. Alternatively, remove the zest with a zester). Put the zest in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain.
5 Make a sugar syrup by putting the water and sugar in a saucepan, stirring and bringing to the boil, then removing from the heat. Put the zest in the syrup and leave it to marinate for at least 1 hour, then drain.
6 Make the lemon curd. Pour it into the tart shell while still hot, filling it to the brim, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7 Scatter the zest over the lemon curd.
8 Make the Italian meringue. Using a St Honoré piping nozzle, pipe little lines of meringue on the tart, drawing circles, from the outside in (or use a spoon).
9 Colour the meringue using a kitchen blowtorch (Decorating a Cake or Dessert) or place the tart under the grill for 30 seconds, watching carefully.
