The Best Lemon Meringue Pie recipe
The tarte au citron is a delicious tart with a perfect balance between sweet and sour. It is Made up of a crunchy dough, a sour lemon cream, and a sweet Italian meringue. This perfect composition will bring some sun to your table and on the face of your guests.
Servings
6 (22cm tart)
Prep time:
40min
Cook time:
20 to 25min
Resting time:
1h45min
Introduction
About this Recipe
For a touch of history, it seems that the tarte au citron is not really a French recipe. It was created in the United States and brought to Europe by Switzerland where the meringue was added on the top. It could be our little secret, and we will keep saying that it’s the perfect French touch tart.
It’s a basic tart recipe almost all French people enjoy with or without the meringue on the top. I think that people really like it because it’s not too sweet thanks to the lemon, we don’t like too sweet desserts.
Even if the meringue could seem a little bit difficult for you, it’s a simple recipe without it. If you want, you could make your first try without (but plan to add 30g of white sugar in the lemon curd to avoid it to being too sour). And the second try will be the complete recipe. We never have too much lemon pie to try.
Find here the links to the material I used for this recipe.
Ingredients
Pie dough
- 160g (1 + 1/3 cup) of flour
- 85g (3/4 stick) of unsalted butter
- 30g (2 tbsp) of egg
- 15g (1 tbsp) of almond powder
- 60g (2/3 cup) of powdered sugar
Lemon curd
- 4 lemons
- 130g (2/3 cup) of granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 20g (1 tbsp) of unsalted butter
- 15g (1 tbsp) of corn flour
Italian meringue
- 50g (1/4 cup) of egg white
- 150g (3/4 cup) of sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) of water
- 160g (1 + 1/3 cup) of flour
- 85g (3/4 stick) of unsalted butter
- 30g (2 tbsp) of egg
- 15g of almond powder
- 60g (2/3 cup) of powdered sugar
- 4 lemons
- 130g (2/3 cup) of granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 20g (1 tbsp) of unsalted butter
- 15g (1 tbsp) of corn flour
- 50g (1/4 cup) of egg white
- 150g (3/4 cup) of sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) of water
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Prepare your pie dough. Whip the butter at room temperature with the powdered sugar. Add the egg and continue to stir.
Finish by adding the almond powder and the flour and continue to stir until you form a dough ball. Place it in plastic wrap.
Put the dough in the fridge for at least an hour (actually, it’s better if you could prepare it the day before).
Step 2
When the dough is cool, preheat the oven at 180°C (356°F). Put some flour on your worktop and spread the dough in the size needed for your cake pan.
Prick the dough and put it into your cake pan.
Blind bake for 20 to 25min until it appears golden on the crust. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Step 3
Prepare the lemon curd. Whip the eggs with the sugar. Thanks to a grater, take some zest on one lemon and pour them in the preparation with the lemon juice. Whip with the corn flour.
Put all your mix in a saucepan and heat until it becomes thick (Stir during all the process to avoid your mix sticking on the pan).
Step 4
Remove from the heat and add your butter in slices. Whip until everything is well combined and pour the lemon curd directly into the cold dough.
Leave to cool completely before continuing.
Step 5
Prepare the Italian meringue. Put in a saucepan the sugar and some water to cover it completely. Put on low heat with your thermometer in the sauce pan to follow the creation of your syrup.
At the same time, pour your egg whites into the food processor.
Step 6
When the syrup goes to 114°C, begin to beat them at high speed.
When the syrup goes to 118°C, slow your food processor and add carefully the syrup in a thin trickle. Increase again the speed of the food processor and let it on until the meringue cools completely.
Step 7
Once everything is ready, place your meringue on the top of your tart thanks to a pastry bag or with a spatula.
Thanks to a welding torch, caramelized a little bit the top of your meringue (if you don’t have one you could do it on the top of your oven on the grill mode for a few minutes).
YOUR FREE EBOOK!
- 14 free pages full of advices to master the art of French tarts.
- Our « Foolproof » pie crust recipe
- 5 delicious tart recipes to use it
- A delicious salty version: The French Quiche
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.
Thank you very much 🤗