Lemon Meringue

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market, all opinions are my own.

Lemon Meringue Tarts

Delicious lemon meringue tarts made with lemon curd, a simple homemade crust, and a foolproof meringue! These lemon meringue tarts are easy peasy, super delicious with the right balance of sweet and tart, a flaky crust, and a delicious Swiss meringue. Lemon Meringue tarts are the perfect addition to a tea party.

Did I mention they are easy? I simplified them with an already made lemon curd. The lemon curd is phenomenal and part of the exclusive collection from the Cost Plus World Market and Downton Abbey partnership, and the ideal filling for these tarts.

I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and am so excited for the movie to come out on September 20th. It was hard not to fall in love with the world the Crawley family live in, the spunky characters, the beautiful countryside.

In the upcoming movie the beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff are preparing for a royal visit from the King and Queen of England. Of course this important event will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.

Please tell me I am not the only one super excited to see how it all plays out? And I love that it is written by the series creator Julian Fellowes and stars the original cast.

I was sucked in by the charm of Downton Abbey, and absolutely loved finding the Downton Abbey products at Cost Plus World Market. Of course I had to buy everything and decided to host a fun tea party with all the products.

Tea Party Menu:

Because I wanted it to be simple and fun I decided to serve just a few items:

• Finger Sandwiches- made with cucumbers and cream cheese.
• Downton Abbey Republic of Tea with Downton Abbey Honey
• Scones with clotted cream, Downton Abbey Marmalade, and Blackcurrant Jam
• Lemon Meringue Tarts filled with the Downton Abbey Lemon Curd and topped with a fluffy Swiss Marshmallow Meringue.
• Downton Abbey Viennese Whirls

The lemon meringue tarts are homemade but with the lemon curd already done, they are quick and easy.

How to Make Tart Crust

The first part of our lemon meringue tarts is the crust. This is a simple crust you bake up before filling it.

1. To make it you start by measuring everything and putting it in a food processor. All but the eggs.
2. Then you process it until it looks like sand.
3. At this point the butter is nicely incorporated, and you can add the eggs.
4. Add in your eggs and process again until it is a nice dough.
5. Remove from the food processor and make into a disc. Wrap and refrigerate.
6. After refrigerating for an hour, you take it out divide it into 6 even pieces, and press into mini tart pans.

Once the dough is into the tart pan, you prick it with a fork to make some room for the air to come out. This dough is pretty sticky, but don’t worry it is very forgiving.

Then you bake it. This tart crust isn’t going to turn a golden brown, so you just want to make sure it baked through.

When you remove it you will notice the center has puffed up and there is no where to put the lemon curd. Simply take a measuring cup, or a glass, and press the center down.

Making Meringue

You guys I am super excited to share this meringue because for years I have struggled with making meringue and having it be the right amount of stiffness, and not weep too much etc. I feel like I have perfected the art and have a fun fool-proof method for making meringue.

Start by measuring your ingredients into a glass bowl and stir it all together.

Take a sauce pan and add a couple of inches of water to it, and put it on the stove over a medium-high heat. Once it is boiling, place your glass bowl over the top and stir it frequently. Let it sit above the steam until the sugar is fully melted into the egg whites. You can test this by dipping your finger in and rubbing your fingers together. If you feel grit, then keep it over. If it no longer feels gritty, remove it.

Dump it into a mixing bowl and mix on a medium speed with a wire whip attachment.

Continue to mix until the outside of the bowl is cold. At this point, your meringue will be white, and stiff, and awesome.

You can then pipe it or spoon it as you will.

Assembling the Lemon Meringue Tarts

Once your meringue is done, you can assemble your meringue tarts.

1. Let the crust cool completely.
2. Spoon the lemon curd into the center.
3. Top with meringue and use a piping bag to make it as fun or fancy as you want.
4. Broil to char/brown the meringue- watch closely so it does not burn!
5. Remove from oven and chill!
6. Serve!

Aren’t they just the cutest addition to the tea party? I served the on this fun Metal and Wood 2 Tier Serving Stand  I picked up at World Market while shopping for the Downton Abbey items.

Hosting Tea Party!

As a foodie, the food takes center stage for me at the tea party, but of course how it is served matters too, and thank goodness Cost Plus World Market has so many amazing linens, serving dishes, and baking dishes to make my life easier. I will share everything I used below so you can find it!

The Food

Lemon Meringue Tarts: I highly recommend making these, not only are they a beautiful addition to your tea party spread, but also impress. No one has to know how easy they really are with the help of pre-made lemon curd.

Scones: Scones are a quintessential part of a tea party, and you can make them from scratch or you can use the Downton Abbey Traditional Organic Scone Mix.  I used this fun scone pan to make them all turn out uniform in size. Plus I love the color!

Marmalades and Jams: Of course to serve your scones you will want some clotted cream, and some delicious jams and marmalades. I chose the Orange Marmalade and Blackcurrant Jam.

The scones are nice and rustic and can support a full flavored jam or marmalade, so have fun with it, and offer plenty of options for your guests.

Tea: You can’t have a tea party without the tea, and the Downton Abbey collection includes a few different tea options.  I love sharing different blends with my guests so they can pick the tea that is right for them.

Honey: Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Honey is designed specifically to be served with tea, but also was great on the scones. This was a sweet addition to our tea party.

Cost Plus World Market’s Virtual Tea Party and Photo Contest

Shop This Post

I had so much fun shopping for this tea party, making it cute, fun, and flavorful. Here are the products I used to pull it off:

• Downton Abbey Marmalade
• Downton Abbey Lemon Curd
• Downton Abbey Blackcurrant Jam
• Downton Abbey Honey
• Downton Abbey Republic of Tea
• Downton Abbey Viennese Whirls
• Downton Abbey Scone Mix
• Metal and Wood 2 Tier Serving Stand
• White Burlap Textured Tea Pot
• Scone Pan 
• Cotton Slub Napkins 
• Sun Baked Potter’s Mugs 

Lemon Meringue Tarts

Easy to make lemon meringue tarts with a fool proof meringue, easy crust, and premade lemon curd filling.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon meringue, lemon meringue tarts

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour spooned not scooped
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup butter cold from fridge
• 2 medium eggs cold from fridge

Filling

• 22.6 ounces Downton Abbey Lemon Curd 2 jars

Meringue

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoon Karo syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Crust

• Add sugar, flour ,baking powder, and chunks of cold butter to a food processor container.
• Process with the pulse setting until butter is incorporated and mixture looks like sand.
• Add eggs and process until a dough ball forms.
• Remove dough from the food processor, and form into a disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray mini tart pans with non-stick cooking spray
• Once dough has chilled divide it evenly into 6 sections, and press into tart pans.
• Pierce several times with the tines of a fork to create air escape holes in the tart crust.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through in a preheated oven.
• Remove from the oven and use a round measuring cup or glass to press the center of the tart down to create a well for the filling.
• Let cool in the tart molds.

Meringue

• While tart crust cools, make meringue by combining all meringue ingredients in a large glass bowl. Set aside.
• Using a medium sized sauce pan, add two inches of water to the bottom, and heat on medium high heat on the stove top.
• Once water is boiling and creating steam, set glass bowl over the top, so it is not touching the water.
• Stir the contents, and continue to stir while the sugars dissolve.
• Feel the egg and sugar mixture with your finger, rubbing some of it between your thumb and forefinger. Continue to cook until you can't feel any grit and sugar is melted.
• Once sugars are melted, remove from the steam (be careful), and pour into a mixing bowl.
• Mix on medium speed, with a whisk attachment until the exterior of the bowl is cool to the touch. The meringue should be white, with stiff peaks. (Takes about 10 minutes of mixing)

Assemble

• Preheat oven to broil on high.
• Spoon Downton Abbey Lemon Curd into your tart crust until it reaches the top of the crust.
• Spoon meringue over the top, then pipe or spoon on a design of your choice. (You may have leftover Meringue)
• Place in oven preheat to broil on high, and broil until peaks of meringue turn a golden brown, watch carefully so they do not burn (2-3 minutes).
• Remove from oven and serve!

Notes

Can store in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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