Get the Recipe: Lime Meringue Tartlets
Ingredients
For the Brown Butter Tart Crusts
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- a pinch of salt
- 5.5 ounces all-purpose flour
For the Lime Cream and Meringue Filling
(enough for 5 tartlets, plus a third cup or so of extra leftover cream)
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons grated lime zest
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
- mini meringues (homemade or store-bought like these guys)
Equipment
- 5 five-inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms (I used these tartlet pans by Wilton)
- A chef's torch
Instructions
For the Brown Butter Tart Crusts
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 410 (F).
- In a Pyrex type oven-safe bowl, combine 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and a pinch of salt.
- This is going to sound weird, but place the bowl in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until the mixture is boiling and the butter starts browning.
- After 15 minutes, remove from the oven, and add 5.5 ounces of flour quickly, by spooning in flour in 1 tablespoon sized chunks. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to stir in the flour until it pulls off the sides of the bowl. The mixture is gonna bubble and smoke, but trust the recipe!
- Once the dough is cool enough to touch, divide the ball of dough between your tartlet pans. Use the back of your hand to flatten out the dough onto the bottom of each pan, and your finger tips to mold the dough up into the corners and sides of the pan. It will feel a little greasy and kinda unpleasant (the dough has the texture of mashed potatoes), but go with it. Once all the pans are lined, use a fork to poke several holes into the crust.
- Line the tart pans on a baking sheet and bake at 410 (F) for 15 minutes, or until the crust is light brown and starts to appear flaky. Once it does, remove carefully from oven and let rest on a wire rack. This crust is very forgiving — it should have hardly any cracks. If you are worried about cracks, you can reserve some of the dough to press into any cracks that might appear after the baking process — the residual heat from the freshly baked tarts will bake the dough accordingly and patch up your crust. Once the crust is completely cooled, it is ready for filling.
For the Lime Cream
- In a large glass bowl (see baker's notes), whisk together 1/2 cup lime juice, 2 tablespoons lime zest, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 3 large eggs. Nestle the bowl on top of a sauce pot filled with water to create a double boiler — make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Place the pot over medium heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and registers 172 (F) on an instant-read thermometer. Once the mixture is ready, it should be able to coat the back of a wooden spoon and your whisk should leave a clear trail through the curd.
- When the curd is ready, remove mixture from heat. Let cool to 140 (F) on a wire rack, whisking occasionally to release heat.
- When the curd has reached 140 (F), add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, a few cubes at a time, and use an immersion blender (see baker's notes) to blend until the butter dissolves completely after each addition. This will take longer than you think it will, and the cream will start to turn into a pale yellow with a thick, opaque texture.
- Once all the butter is added, allow the curd to cool to room temperature before placing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream (to prevent a sin from forming). Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
Putting It All Together
- Use a 1-tablespoon sized cookie dough scoop to scoop lime cream into each baked tartlet shell — I used about 3 heaping tablespoons per tartlet. Use an offset spatula to smooth and spread the curd evenly throughout the shell.
- Top each tartlet with the appropriate number of meringues to cover the curd entirely. Use a chef's torch to caramelize the tops of the meringues — be careful to avoid torching the lime curd and tart crust itself. After torching, the tarts are best when eaten immediately. You can keep the tarts in the fridge for longer (up to 2 - 3 days) if you don't top with meringues and only do so before serving.
Notes
Inspired by Miette
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