Using in-season citrus you can’t go past this delicious pie topped with creamy meringue.
For the perfect dessert, you can use any citrus lemon, lime, grapefruit, blood orange to bring together this sweet and tangy goodness to your dinner table.
WHAT YOU”LL NEED
For such a delicious dessert you don’t need many ingredients at all.
For mine I used a combination of lemons and limes. I actually pulled them from a friends tree. They look a lot like limes but are lemons. Along with your citrus fruit you will need basic ingredients like butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla paste.
A 23cm tart tin is best. But don’t be too stressed with the size of your tart tin. Its a very giving recipe. You can use smaller tart tins if you want to make individual pies.
HOW TO MAKE A CITRUS PIE
Start your recipe by making the tart shell first. This can be made the day before.
To make the lemon filling its as simple as combining all the filling ingredients and beating together.
Once tart shell cooled and your ingredients beaten together, pour in the lemon mixture and bake again for 30-35 mins until just set.
To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
NOTES
- Strain the mixture into a clean bowl before you transfer the tart to a baking. This makes the filling completely smooth, and strains out the zest plus any rogue lemon seeds.
- Keep your egg whites from the lemon filling as you will use this to make your meringue.
- Recommend putting your pie on a tray while baking, it’s easier to move it around on a tray.
- When coming out from the oven the tart should have a gentle wobble. It will also continue to set once its been refrigerated. If its more than a gentle wobble return to oven and continue to cook. Keeping your eye on it at all times.
OPTIONAL VARIATIONS
- If you want to make mini tarts or pies, you will need to reduce the cooking time. Make sure you keep an eye on the tarts and cooking until just set.
CITRUS PIE
Ingredients
- 1 sweet tart pastry https://www.opengarage.com.au/sweet-tart-pastry/
FILLING
- 250m pouring cream
- 2 eggs
- 4 small egg yolks set aside the egg whites for the meringue.
- 100 g caster sugar
- 120 ml lemon juice or citrus juice of preference
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
MERINGUE
- 4 egg whites, room temperature
- 200 g caster sugar
Instructions
- Make your tart shell as per the recipe instructions for sweet tart pastry.
- Preheat oven to 140°C
- To make the citrus filling, whisk together the cream, vanilla, eggs, extra yolks, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl to combine. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl. Transfer the tart to a baking tray and carefully pour the filling into the tart shell.
- Bake for 30–40 minutes or until just set. Pie should have a slight wobble. Allow to cool at room temperature.
- To make Italian meringue, place sugar in a saucepan, add ¼ cup water and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and cook until syrup reaches 115C on a sugar thermometer. If you don't have a sugar thermometer, once to the boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then, with motor running, slowly add hot syrup and whisk for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low until ready to use.
- Once your tart has completely cooled, spoon the meringue over the filling, place pie under a hot grill or using a blowtorch, toast meringue until evenly golden.