Blind-baked pâte sucrée, set lemon cream, torched Italian meringue. The gelatine gives the curd a clean knife-cut without dulling the citrus. Yield: 12 × 8 cm tartlets or one 24 cm tart. Filled shells hold 48 hours at 2-4°C; meringue and torch as close to service as scheduling allows.
Yield: 12 portions · Prep 90 min · Bake 35 min
Ingredients
250 g plain flour (pâte sucrée)
95 g icing sugar (pâte sucrée)
150 g unsalted butter (pâte sucrée)
40 g egg yolk (pâte sucrée)
3 g fine sea salt
200 ml lemon juice
12 g lemon zest
220 g caster sugar (curd)
250 g whole egg (curd)
180 g unsalted butter (curd)
4 g gelatine leaves (gold)
120 g egg white (Italian meringue)
240 g caster sugar (Italian meringue)
60 ml water (syrup)
Method
Shells Make, line, and blind-bake pâte sucrée shells per the foundation recipe: 2.5-3 mm, baked at 160-170°C until the base is dry and the edges golden. Egg-wash the hot shells and flash 2 minutes for a moisture barrier.
Lemon cream Bloom the gelatine in ice water. Whisk eggs, sugar, zest, and juice in a bain-marie bowl and cook, whisking constantly, to 82-84°C — thick, custard-like, and no longer frothy on the surface.
Emulsify Off the heat, add the squeezed gelatine, then cool to 45°C and emulsify in the butter with a stick blender in a tall jug, lifting slowly without drawing air. This emulsion is what gives the cream its gloss and mouthfeel.
Fill and set Pour into the shells to the rim while fluid. Tap gently to level and refrigerate at 2-4°C for at least 2 hours to a clean set.
Italian meringue Cook sugar and water to 118°C. Meanwhile whisk whites to soft peaks; stream the syrup down the bowl wall at speed, then whisk on medium until the meringue is stiff, glossy, and at body temperature.
Finish Pipe the meringue with a 16 mm plain or St-Honoré tip and torch to a mahogany gradient — torch, not oven, or the curd softens. Serve at 8-12°C.