Lemon Meringue Tart

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 1/2 cups pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon lemon peel, finely grated
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, room temperature (1 stick)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 egg whites, room temperature

Recipe

• 1 for pastry.
• 2 sift flour onto work surface and make a well in center.
• 3 mix sugar, yolks, vanilla and salt in well using fingertips until sugar and salt dissolve.
• 4 pound butter with rolling pin to soften, break into pieces and work into sugar mixture using fingertips.
• 5 using pastry cutter or dough scraper, cut flour into sugar mixture until well blended; gather into a ball.
• 6 with heel of hand, push small pieces of dough down on surface away from you to blend butter and flour thoroughly; gather into a ball.
• 7 wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• 8 roll dough out on lightly floured surface to thickness of 1/8 inch.
• 9 fit into 9 1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
• 10 trim edges, cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
• 11 preheat oven to 400°f.
• 12 lightly butter foil cut to fit bottom of tart pan;set buttered side down in tart pan.
• 13 fill shell with dried beans or pie weights.
• 14 bake until pastry is set, about 15 minutes.
• 15 remove weights and foil.
• 16 return to oven and bake until brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
• 17 for filling.
• 18 whisk sugar, lemon juice, eggs,yolks and peel in top of nonaluminum double boiler set over boiling water until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes; do not let boil.
• 19 remove from heat and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time,completely incorporating each before adding next.
• 20 (can be prepared up to 2 weeks ahead,covered and refrigerated).
• 21 pour filling into crust and cool to room temperature.
• 22 for meringue.
• 23 preheat broiler.
• 24 whisk sugar and whites set in stainless steel bowl set over saucepan of boiling water until slowly dissolving ribbon forms when whisk is lifted, about 10 minutes.
• 25 remove from heat and beat with electric mixer until whites are cool and stiff.
• 26 spoon into pastry bag fitted with star tip.
• 27 pipe concentric circles of stars atop tart, pulling up at the end of each star.
• 28 broil about 12 to 15 inches from source of heat until meringue is lightly browned, about 1 minute.
• 29 serve immediately.