When I need a dessert that’s a little bit on the fancy side, I make berry chantilly cake, Oreo cheesecake, or this amazingly delicious and elegant lemon meringue tart. This dessert takes a bit of effort, but the end result is totally worth it.
You know how most people have a strong preference for either cake or pie? My family is definitely a cake family. The exception to that rule has always been lemon meringue pie. But have you ever had a store bought lemon meringue pie that was sub-par? I sure have – I’ve encountered my fair share of artificial tasting lemon goop with a foamy meringue on top that was devoid of flavor. You’re not going to find that here, this lemon meringue tart is like the fanciest and most delicious lemon meringue pie that you’ve ever tasted.
How do you make a lemon meringue tart?
You can either make this as a tart or a pie, your choice. The tart is a little more elegant looking, but the pie has more of the lemon filling. I use a simple graham cracker crust for this recipe, because I think it’s the perfect flavor match for the lemon filling and for me, a graham cracker crust is easier to make than a traditional pie crust.
The lemon filling is basically a lemon curd that gets baked into the crust. The recipe makes enough filling for a pie dish which is a little bit deeper than a tart, so if you do the tart, you’ll have extra filling. I always pour the extra filling into an oven safe dish and bake it right alongside the tart, that way there’s no waste. The crowning glory on the lemon meringue tart is a toasted brown sugar meringue. This stuff is heavenly.
Tips for lemon meringue tart
Slowly pour the lemon filling into your tart shell – if you’re too forceful as you pour, the liquid could dislodge some graham cracker crumbs and you might have a little bit of graham cracker in your filling which still tastes great, but isn’t quite as attractive. This recipe calls for a torch to toast the meringue. If you don’t have a torch, you can put your tart under the broiler for a few minutes, but watch carefully so that it doesn’t burn. I’ve made this recipe with both traditional lemons and Meyer lemons, and it comes out great either way. For a different flavor, you can use gingersnap cookie crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs. This tart will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How do you make Italian meringue?
You are going to need a few pieces of specialty equipment to make this meringue, a candy thermometer and a torch. You really can use any kind of blow torch, it doesn’t have to be specific for culinary purposes. When I took classes at the culinary academy the chefs used these large industrial torches for everything! This is an Italian meringue where a sugar syrup is boiled to the hard ball candy stage and then slowly streamed into beaten egg whites. After you spread the meringue, it’s torching time.
This is one of my all-time favorite desserts, the lemon filling is smooth and creamy with the perfect amount of tartness and the brown sugar gives the meringue such a complex flavor. The next time you need a dessert for a special occasion, try this lemon tart, it’s a showstopper for sure.
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This post was originally published on April 21, 2015 and was updated on March 5, 2019 with new content.
