You can't go wrong with this tangy dessert, which will pack quite a punch after any dinner. From Christine Crowley for MasterChef Ireland.

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 110 g plain flour
  • 65 g butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tblsp water

Lemon Curd:

  • 100 g castor sugar
  • 50 g butter
  • rind and juice of 2 lemons
  • 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk

Meringue:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • served with whipped cream and garnished with crystallised lemon balm and candied peel.

Method

  1. Gather ingredients for pastry. Sieve flour and salt, cube butter and rub in. Beat egg yolk with water and add enough to bind.
  2. Mix and divide, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Turn on oven to 190°C.
  3. Gather ingredients for curd. Grate rind and juice the lemons.
  4. Melt butter in pan and add sugar and lemon.
  5. Remove pastry from fridge and roll out. Line tartlet tins and freeze for 5 minutes, or refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  6. Whisk eggs and egg yolk and sieve into lemon mixture.
  7. Stir continuously until thick. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
  8. Remove pastry, line with parchment fill with baking beans.
  9. Bake in oven for 18 minutes.
  10. Gather ingredients and prepare equipment for meringue.
  11. Whisk egg whites til fluffy, add most of the sugar and whisk until stiff.
  12. Pour into piping bag. Take pastry from oven and turn up to 210°C. Remove baking beans, egg wash and return to oven for 2 mins.
  13. Fill pastry with lemon curd and top with meringue. Bake in oven for 7 minutes.
  14. Whip cream and prepare candied peel. Plate up!

Notes

By Christine Crowley for MasterChef Ireland.