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Whole Lemon Meringue Tart
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
Short Sweet Pastry
  • 200 g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
  • 65 g icing sugar (1/2 cup)
  • pinch of salt
  • 140 g butter refrigerator cold, chopped into cubes
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon ice water if needed
Whole lemon filling
  • 1 medium lemon washed (thin skin if possible)
  • 200 g caster sugar (1 cup)
  • 60 ml lemon juice (1/4 cup)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tbsp corn flour (corn starch)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 80 g unsalted butter, melted
Torched meringue topping
  • 4 large egg whites room temperature
  • 200 g caster sugar (1 cup)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
Short Sweet Pastry

  1. Combine the flour, icing sugar and salt in the Vitamix container. Pulse on low speed to combine.

  2. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the largest pieces of butter are just bigger than pea-size. Add the vanilla essence, white vinegar and egg yolk. Pulse on medium speed just until the dough starts clumping together, 6-10 times. Add a tablespoon of ice water if it seems too dry. It will still be a bit crumbly - do not over mix. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and bring together with your hands. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  3. Grease a 26-28cm tart tin. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured bench to about 3mm thick and line the tart tin, pressing firmly into the sides of the tin. If too hard to roll, leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften a little. If it rips at all or you find that one edge is too thin, it is easy to use the leftover pastry scraps to patch it back together.
  4. Trim the pastry to form a neat edge - I usually roll my rolling pin over the edge to cut through the pastry.
  5. Rest the lined tart tin in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the pastry case with foil, then fill it with dry rice or pie weights and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and foil, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until light golden. Set aside while you make the filling.
Whole Lemon Filling

  1. Cut the lemon into quarters and discard the seeds and any stem. Add to the Vitamix container (peel and pith included) with the caster sugar and lemon juice and blitz until smooth.

  2. Add the eggs, corn flour, salt and melted butter and blitz again until well combined.
  3. Pour the lemon filling into the baked pastry shell.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the lemon filling is just set to touch.
  5. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate to set the filling completely.
Torched Meringue
  1. Place all ingredients in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm. (Rub a little between your fingers to check).
  2. Remove the bowl from the heat, and using an electric beater or stand whisk, beat for 5-7 minutes until thick and glossy.
  3. Dollop the meringue over the cooled lemon filling, then use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to create your choice of swirls/swoops.
  4. Use a blow torch to brown the meringue. Serve that day (the rest of the tart can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, but make the meringue on the day you plan to serve it).