Strawberry Meringue Tarts

By maredan

Ingredients

• For the Crust:
• 1-1/4 cup pastry flour, sifted
• 1-1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2-3 tbsp cold water
• For the Filling:
• 3 cups quartered strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• For the Meringue:
• 5 large egg whites
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Directions
For the Crust:
For crust, blend flour, sugar and salt in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cut in butter, on low speed, until a rough crumbly texture. Whisk egg yolks with vinegar and 3 Tbsp of cold water. Add all at once to flour mixture and blend. If dough does not work itself together, add remaining 1 Tbsp water. Shape dough into a log, wrap in plastic and chill.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to just under 1/4-inch thick and line six 3 ½-inch tart shells. Trim tart shells and chill 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place tart shells on a baking tray and dock bottoms with a fork. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until bottoms appear dry and edges brown just lightly. Let cool.
For the Filling:
For filling, stir strawberries with sugar, lemon juice and ½ cup water. Let sit for 20 minutes. Strain away liquid into a small pot. Bring liquid up to a simmer. Stir cornstarch with remaining 2 tablespoons water and whisk into simmering liquid. Stir until thickened, then remove from heat to cool. Once cooled, fold into strawberries and spoon into baked tart shells. Chill while preparing meringue.
For the Meringue:
For meringue, preheat oven to 400°F. Whip egg whites with lemon juice on one speed lower than high and gradually add sugar while whipping to stiff peaks. Stir in cornstarch and pipe or dollop over strawberry filling. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes until browned then cool and chill until ready to serve.