Meringue Shells w/Lemon filling
Beautiful and elegant, with a delicate texture that could make you swoon!
Meringue shells with Lemon filling
MERINGUE SHELLS
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. vinegar
FiLLING:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
RASPBERRY PUREE:
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tab. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 finely minced fresh mint leaves (optional)
-Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.
Continue beating adding sugar 1 tab. at a time. Add
vinegar and salt after half of the sugar has been added.
Continue beating egg whites, adding rest of sugar 1
tablespoon at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks form.
-Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Fill piping bag
with meringue (egg white mixture) and using a large
star tip pipe a flat tight circle on the parchment paper,
beginning in the center until your circle disk is about 2
1/2 inches in diameter. Pipe two rings of the meringue
around the edge of the circle, on top of the circle's edge
one of top of the other.
(Alternately, you can simply place a large spoonful,
about 1/3 cup, meringue, onto paper and with the back
of a spoon form a circle and mold a hole in the center,
raising the edges up to form a cup.)
-Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Turn off heat and prop
oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon and
leave meringue shells in oven to cool, about 1 hour.
-Meantime, prepare lemon filling by mixing soft butter
and sugar in mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg yolks one at a time until smooth, then stir
in lemon juice, lemon rind and salt
-Place mixture in a medium-sized non-aluminum
saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring very
frequently, until thickened and mixture is about to
boil, or after you see the first bubble - about 8
minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool -
about 30 minutes.
-Beat 1/2 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir
in 3 tablespoons powdered sugar.
-Gently fold whipped cream into lemon curd (mixture)
until smooth. Chill until ready to use or up to 30
minutes.
-Prepare raspberry puree by placing raspberries, sugar,
lemon juice and mint (if used) in a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until
mixture thickens and becomes shiny, breaking up
berries with wooden spoon or potato masher.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room
temperature.
To Assemble:
Fill each meringue shell half full (1 - 1 1/2 tab.) with
lemon filling. Spoon 1-2 tsp. of raspberry puree in center
of lemon filling. Cover the raspberry puree with another
1 - 1 1/2 tab. of lemon filling. Chill in fridge for at least
1 hour. Garnish with a couple of fresh raspberries, blue-
berries and a mint leaf.
Makes 10 merginue lemon tarts. Can keep up to 3 days
in refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap or
foil.
Beat egg whites with sugar until glossy and stiff peaks form.
Using a star tip, pipe meringue shells.
Stir lemon curd just until about to boil to keep it smooth.
Fill shells with lemon filling, dollop raspberry in center and cover with more filling.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**Lemon reacts with metal, to take on a metallic taste, particularly when cooked in aluminum pots, so be sure to cook your curd in a stainless steel, teflon-coated, or ceramic pot. Remove from pot to cool in a plastic or glass bowl.
**To grate lemon, orange or lime rind, use a micro-plane to get a very fine grate. This device is essential in my kitchen and I use it for this purpose as well as for grating fresh nutmeg.
**If piping frightens you, use the shaping method described, where you plop down a spoonful of meringue and sculpt it into a bowl-shaped shell with the back of a spoon. But meringue is a great medium to practice your piping skills with as it pipes out so easily and holds its shape beautifully.
