Lemon Meringue Tarts-Tartellette alla Crema di Limone e Meringa All’Italiana

Lemon Meringue Tarts-Tartellette alla Crema di Limone e Meringa All’Italiana

Makes 6 11½-cm (4½-inch) tarts

**Special Equipment - Crème Brûlée Torch

• Sweet Short Pastry {Pasta Frolla}
• Lemon Cream {Crema di Limone}
• Italian Meringue  {Meringa All’Italiana}

Sweet Short Pastry – Pasta Frolla

**Please note - It is best to place flour, sugar, salt and water in the freezer for at least one-half hour to chill before beginning the preparation for pasta frolla.

• 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 70 g (1/3 cup) caster (superfine granules) sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 125 g (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, cold
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water
• Egg wash

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest until just combined.
2. Add the butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumb.
3. With processor running, pour egg yolks in a steady stream through the feed tube. Process until pasta frolla comes together, no more than 30 seconds.  Test frolla by squeezing a small amount together with your fingertips.  If dough is crumbly, add the ice water 1-tablespoon at-a-time until the frolla comes together.
4. Transfer the pasta frolla to a clean, lightly floured work surface.
5. Gently and quickly knead the pasta frolla until smooth.
6. Divide the frolla into two pieces.  Roll out one piece of frolla to .33-cm (1/8-inch) thick.
7. Working quickly cut the frolla into six 15¼-cm (6-inch) rounds.  Fit the pastry rounds into tart tins and trim off excess pastry with a sharp knife.  Dock the bottoms of the pastry shells with a fork.  Transfer pastry lined tart tins to a baking sheet; freeze pastry shells for at least 30 minutes before blind baking.
8. Preheat oven to 160° C (320° F).
9. Remove pastry shells from freezer.  To prevent pasta frolla from shrinking, line pastry shells with non-stick baking paper, leaving a 2.5-cm (1-inch) overhang and fill lined shells with ceramic pie weights, dried beans or rice (making sure weights are flush with tops of tart tins).
10. Bake pastry shells until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack; remove baking paper and weights from pastry shells.  Let shells cool for 1 to 2 minutes.
12. Prepare egg wash; brush bottoms of pastry shells with egg wash.  Return to oven and continue to bake until golden all over, 5 to 10 minutes.
13. Transfer tins to wire rack and allow to cool in tins for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove shells from tins and return shells to wire rack to cool completely prior to filling.
14. Any remaining Pasta Frolla can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to one month.

Lemon Cream – Crema di Limone

• 65 ml (2¼-ounces) heavy cream
• Juice of 2 lemons (about 118 ml or 4 ounces)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 113 g (½-cup) caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 70 g (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into ½-tablespoon size pieces

1. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the boil over medium heat.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale.
3. Add half of the hot cream-juice mixture to the egg-sugar mixture and whisk to well combine.
4. Pour the egg-cream mixture into the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture and whisk to well combine.
5. Cook, whisking constantly, until the lemon cream comes to the boil and thickens.
6. Strain lemon cream through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl.  Whisk in the butter pieces.
7. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the lemon cream to prevent a skin from forming when cooling.  Refrigerate lemon cream for at least 30 minutes prior to filling tarts.

Italian Meringue – Meringa All’Italiana

• 225 g (1 cup) caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) water
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the sugar in a small saucepan.  Add the water and set saucepan over low heat.
2. Swirl the saucepan over the burner to dissolve the sugar completely. (Do not stir.)  Increase the heat to medium-high so that the sugar syrup cooks quickly.
3. Attach candy thermometer to pan and cook the sugar syrup to a soft-ball stage, 113° C to 116° C (235° F to 240° F).  (If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test the syrup by dropping a little syrup into a bowl of cold water – a firm ball should form.)  (Do not stir.)
4. To prevent sugar crystals from forming, use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash down the sides of the pan.
5. When the temperature of the sugar syrup reaches 100° C (212° F), in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, begin beating your egg whites on low speed.
6. Add the cream of tartar when the egg whites are foamy.
7. Increase the speed to medium; beat until soft peaks form.
8. Decrease the speed to low-medium and with mixer running; gradually (in a steady, thin stream) add the sugar mixture (making sure syrup does not touch the whip attachment).
9. Add the vanilla and increase speed to high; whisk until thick and glossy.

Assembling Lemon Meringue Tarts – Tartellette alla Crema di Limone e Meringa All’Italiana

• Crème Brûlée Torch or set oven to broiler setting on low
  

1. To fill pastry shells, transfer lemon cream to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Pipe lemon cream into cooled pastry shells.  Or if you prefer, spoon lemon cream into pastry shells.
2. To top tartellettes with Italian Meringue, transfer Italian Meringue to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip.  Pipe meringue in peaks on top of lemon cream.  If you prefer, dollop meringue onto lemon cream and use the back of a spoon to create peaks.
3. To brown tips and sides of meringue peaks, run the Crème Brûlée Torch back and forth across the tips and sides of meringue peaks – (don’t hold the torch in one place for too long because the meringue easily scorches – I’ve done this more times than I care to count).  If you do not have a torch, place tarts on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven set on broiler setting at low temperature. (Watch tartellettes carefully, meringue can brown very quickly.  It is best to turn the baking sheet a few times to ensure even browning among tartellettes.)
4. Buon Appetito!