MINI LIME MERINGUE PIES
A change to the classic lemon meringue pie, this recipe uses chocolate sable breton topped with lime curd and Italian meringue. The recipe and method is for individual pies, but if you wanted to make one large pie you could. The pastry will make more than you need for this recipe, but as the pastry is shortbread like, you can just cut out as many round as you like and bake them to eat separately. Lemon or Lime curd can be used and the recipes for both can be found in the recipe section. You will need a thermometer for making the Italian Meringue.
Ingredients
- ***Sable Breton***
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 130 g Sugar
- 150 g Softened Butter
- 175 g Plain Flour
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 11 g Baking Powder
- ***Italian Meringue***
- 125 g Sugar
- 40 g Water
- 70 g Egg Whites About 2
Instructions
- ****Chocolate Sable Breton****
- In a bowl or a food mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar. When they're thick and creamy add the butter and continue to beat it.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Beat this into the egg mixture until smooth.
- Flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap in cling-film and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 Degrees and line two baking trays with baking parchment
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment. The pastry is very sticky (rolling it out on a floured surface will alter the colour) and this will help stop it sticking to the worktop.
- Roll the pastry out to 4-5mm thick and using a cookie cutter stamp out round about 70mm in size. You need at least 12, but you will get more. At this point you can freeze the remaining pastry for use at a later date, or you can cut out more rounds and eat them like shortbread.
- Place the rounds on the trays and cook for 10 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even cooking.
- ****Italian Meringue****
- Combine 100g of the sugar and the water in a saucepan.
- Cook over a medium heat, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil washing down any crystals on the sides of the pan with a moistened pastry brush.
- Dip the thermometer into the syrup, until if registers 244F or 118C.
- Meanwhile place the egg whites and 25g of the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment fitted. Just before the sugar is ready, whip the eggs at medium speed until they hold a soft peak.
- Turn the mixer up to high and carefully pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the whites and whip until the mixture cools to room temperature, this should take about 10 minutes.
- Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
- ****Assemble the pies****
- Take 12 of the shortbread rounds and heap a teaspoon of lime curd in the centre.
- Pipe round the outside of the curd and work upward to completely conceal the filling and finish the pies with a swirl.
- Repeat that step 11 more times.
- Take a chef's blowtorch and gently scorch all of the mini meringue pies.