Lemon Meringue Tart is one of my mum’s specialties and is high on my list of childhood favourites.
This recipe is from the pages of my great grandmother’s recipe book and one of the key ingredients is another of my childhood favourites – condensed milk.
I’d often look at this recipe when flicking through Nana Ling’s recipe book but kept saving it for another time.
Well, the perfect time is now. Over the weekend I went along to Maitland’s Taste Festival and got some tips from the pros about making lemon meringue tart.
Lemon Meringue Tart: tips from Maitland Taste Festival
After a little wander around the stalls, I made sure I was at the demo stage ready for a session on pastry.
Miss Z and Miss Y were kept entertained by a chihuahua sitting just behind us, so I was actually able to listen to most of the demo. Winning! Chef Cory Campbell and Chef Chris Ranzenbacher put on a great show, sharing their tips on making lemon meringue tarts.
I’ve used a different recipe here, of course, but I was still able to put three of their many pro tips into action:
1. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature.
2. When mixing meringue, make sure there’s no grainy sugar in the mixture but don’t overbeat, either. The mixture should still be pliable.
3. It’s okay to cheat sometimes. Okay, they didn’t actually say this but they did use bought pastry cases. I’ve done the same here to make it a quick and easy dessert idea.
Making Lemon Meringue Tart
The best thing about this recipe, is that you absolutely do not need to be a pro to make it a success. If you can measure, whisk and switch an oven on, you can make this recipe.
Another bonus is that you don’t use the entire tin of condensed milk. So you can start thinking about how you’ll make sure the rest doesn’t go to waste. We like it on toast or breakfast cereal, or even added to coffee.
Nana Ling’s Lemon Meringue Tart recipe
Keep scrolling for the tested and tweaked version.
Lemon Meringue Tart
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup condensed milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- grated rind from 1/2 lemon
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- bought tart shells (1 large, 2 medium or 12 individual)
Instructions
- Combine condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and egg yolk. Whisk together well.
- Pour into pastry tart shell (or shells if using smaller or individual tart shells).
- Beat egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue mixture is thick but pliable.
- Spoon or pipe meringue mixture onto top of tart.
- Bake at 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced) for 8-10 minutes or until meringue browns on top.
- Allow to cool completely before serving.
