While I love pie of all kinds, I've never been a fan of the lemon meringue pie. When people tell me this is their favorite pie, I just don't get it. The spongy meringue, the sweaty layer between the filling and the meringue. Then I started thinking about my distaste for the pie and I realized that the only lemon meringue pie I've had is the diner kind. And while--at least in my opinion--means pretty good things for coconut cream, I'm not sure the same can be said about lemon meringue. Maybe I just don't like the pie because I've never had a good one.
I couldn't just leap right into baking a lemon meringue pie--baby steps. Since I'm all about the rhubarb these days, I decided to make my first effort at liking the dastardly pie with a rhubarb meringue tart. The tart is has a sweet pastry crust, rhubarb curd for the filling, and a simple meringue. My favorite part in the baking process was toasting the meringue with my kitchen torch. The torch is typically only used around here for creme brulee and since W.'s the creme brulee master, I never get to play with it. I think I'll be whipping up more meringue just for the entertainment value.
I think I'm making progress in my meringue-therapy, because I can't stop thinking about this tart.
Rhubarb Meringue Tart
This tart has three parts: a sweet dough, the rhubarb curd, and the meringue. I used The Tart Dough recipe from the Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, but any pate sucree recipe will work. If you don't have one that you like, you can do a quick search and find many options.
Rhubarb Curd
Cook 1 cup rhubarb, 2 T. sugar, and 2 tsp. lemon juice over med-high heat until the rhubarb is soft. Set this aside.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together 3 egg yolks, 6 T. sugar, and a pinch of salt. Set this bowl over a lightly simmering pan of water. Add the stewed rhubarb and, whisking constantly, cook the mixture until it reaches 160 F. Remove from heat and add 1/2 stick butter (2 oz.), one tablespoon at a time. Let the curd cool until it thickens.
Meringue
In your heatproof mixer bowl, combine 4 large egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt. Set over a pan of simmering water and, whisking constantly, cook until the mixture reaches 140 F. Remove from the heat and beat on medium high speed until you get stiff, glossy peaks.
Putting it All Together
This recipe made 6 four-inch tarts. Blind bake the tart shells according to your recipe's directions. Let these cool completely. Fill the tart shells with the thickened rhubarb curd. Make the meringue and fill a pastry bag. I used on oversized open star tip to create the topping
pictured, but you could use a variety of star or open tips--try a few options and use what works for you. Pipe the meringue in your preferred design (if you don't want to fuss with piping, you could even spoon the meringue onto the tart). Lightly brown the meringue with your kitchen torch. If you don't have one, you could also put the tarts under the broiler for a minute or two (I haven't tested this, so keep an eye on them!)
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