Betsy Serves 8
Pastry (this is the same pastry for the Strawberry Tarte)
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
salt
6 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, diced
2 Tbs. cold Crisco
¼ cup ice water
1. Combine flour, 3 Tbs. sugar, ½ tsp. salt in a bowl and freeze for 30 minutes. Place in processor with butter and Crisco for about ten pulses. Add ice water and process until dough comes together. Dump onto lightly floured board and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
2. Roll dough to fit a 9-inch tart pan with removeable sides. Don’t stretch dough when placing in pan. Cut off the excess by rolling a pin over top edges.
3. Line tart shell with a piece of aluminum foil, buttered side down. Fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake at 425 for ten minutes. Remove foil and beans. Prick dough all over with fork and return to oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
4. Fill with lemon filling and pipe with meringue. Bake 3-5 minutes at 425 or until peaks are nicely browned.
Meringue
4 extra-large egg whites at room temperature (use whites from lemon filling)
¼ tsp. cream of tarter
½ cup sugar
1. Beat eggs and cream of tarter until stiff.
2. Gradually add sugar and beat until it is dissolved.
Pipe onto filled tart (or spread with spatula, creating peaks and swirls in desired pattern).
Bake as directed in step 4 above.
Lemon Filling
Makes 5 cups
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
5 yolks from extra large eggs (use 4 whites for meringue)
¼ cup zest from 2-3 lemons (6-8 if using meyer lemons)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/8 tsp. salt
1. Cream butter and sugar in bowl of electric mixer for one minute.
2. On low speed, add yolks and eggs, one at a time, mixing each thoroughly.
3. Add lemon juice and zest. Don’t worry if it appears to curdle.
4. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. (Ina says with a wooden spoon; I used a whisk). When it begins to thicken, stir more vigorously for about two minutes. Don’t let it boil and scorch! It should be close to 175 degrees; it will thicken further when it cools.
Pour into a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
5. Fill tart shell with mixture. Cover with meringue, being sure to seal the sides to prevent shell from shrinking. Bake as directed above.