Delicious tartlets filled with lime cream, topped with toasted Italian meringue. An excellent sweet snack for party occasions!
Ingredients
- Icing sugar – 60 g
- Egg – 1
- Butter – 180 g
- Wheat flour – 400 g
- Salt – a pinch
Lime cream
- Sugar – 130 g
- Eggs – 3
- Lime – 1
- Cornstarch – 1 teaspoon
- Butter – 90 g
Toasted italian meringue:
- Eggs – 2
- Sugar – 180 g
- Water – 60 ml
Preparation
In a metal bowl, combine sugar and eggs. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water. Beat the eggs with sugar over steam for about 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Add lime juice and grated zest, then mix in a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken the cream. Remove the bowl from steam and add butter. Stir continuously until the butter completely melts. Transfer the cream to a clean bowl and set aside. Place it in the fridge (the prepared cream can be stored in a jar for 7-10 days).
In a large bowl, combine flour, icing sugar, and salt. Add butter and egg. Knead the mixture by hand, rubbing the butter into the flour. If the dough doesn’t stick together, add 2 tablespoons of water. Transfer the dough onto a board and knead until smooth and uniform. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Roll out the chilled dough to a thickness of about 5-6 mm. Cut out shapes with a fluted round cutter. Place them on the bottom convex part of muffin molds. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Then bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 9-12 minutes until golden brown. Gently remove the baked tartlets from the molds (while still hot) and let them cool.
Heat water and sugar until it reaches a temperature of about 118°C (feather test). Beat egg whites in a mixer and gradually pour in the hot syrup. Beat for about 5 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add a few drops of lime juice to the finished meringue and mix by hand. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag.
Transfer the lime cream to a pastry bag. Pipe it into the tartlet shells. Pipe the meringue on top and toast it with a kitchen torch.
