lemon tarte with meringue. tarte au citron meringuée.

i trace the roof of my mouth with my tongue.
the lemon tang is still present.
although the tarte is (long) gone.

i think about how easily my teeth slide through the custard.
hit the crisp crust.
the smooth, butter taste.
both from the filling and it's pastry fortress.

the white, weightless something makes a squishy sound.
air is deflated.
sweet and sour complement each other.
a give and take.

...

a delicate combination.
a balance not easy to achieve.

be assured, this is it.

please, take your time savoring every bite.
it's worth it.

lemon tarte

one tarte, 22 cm in diameter

pâte brisée:

100g butter

60g powdered sugar

10g eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

large pinch of salt

165g all-purpose flour

lemon custard:

3 eggs

270g sugar

180g lemon juice

lemon zest of 2 lemons

pinch of salt

260g butter

8g gelatine

 meringue:

80g egg white

100g sugar

make pâte brisée: 

cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt.

add flour, blend well.

chill for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.

 then roll the dough around 3-4mm thick, then press into your tarte form.

poke the bottoms with a fork, to avoid air bubbles.

bake for around 15 minutes, or until golden-brown at 180 degrees celcius.

let cool.

make the meringue:

turn your oven up to 200 degrees celcius.

whip egg whites and half of the sugar until white and frothy. 

add the rest of the sugar.

beat until stiff.

fill into pastry bag and pipe onto a silicon mat in any way you would like.

i marked 18 cm, as to be smaller than my tarte, started in the middle and piped circularly. 

bake for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned.

remove from oven, turn off oven. 

after the oven has cooled down slightly, place the meringue into the oven again, onto the lowest rack.

leave to dry until the oven is cold.

for the custard: 

soak gelatin in cold water, if using leaf gelatine.

if using powdered gelatine, just stir in into hot mixture later.

mix eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and salt.

cut butter into cubes and add.

heat on high heat, stirring constantly.

do not leave your custard, or else your eggs might scramble!

when your custard boils, boil for one minute, remove from heat and stir in the gelatine (if using leaf gelatine, squeeze out excess water slightly).

let cool slightly, then pour into the tarte form.

let cool.

when your tarte has hardened, loosen your meringue from your silicon mat carefully and place on your lemon tarte.