lemon meringue tarts.

It’s that time again.

There was a chocolate cake that went where no chocolate cake had gone before. We shared a cheesecake that put your old favorite pumpkin recipe to shame. And now, it’s time for lemon meringue.

That’s right – it’s my pick for Project Pastry Queen again, and after such tremendous success with my last two choices, the stakes were high. These individual lemon meringue tarts, or more accurately – lemon-lime meringue tarts – have been staring me right in the face ever since my copy of the cookbook arrived. And not just because they grace the front cover of the book, mind you. It’s the idea of luscious, cloud-like meringue piled much too high that’s been in my head. It’s been the small, jelly-like pools of bright, citrusy curd resting upon buttery crusts brimming with nuts that have been consuming my thoughts. And the combination of such brilliant flavors and contrasting textures?

Well, suffice it to say – I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to give into these signature tarts, or so-called by Rebecca Rather. She gives them this name because like most of her recipes and dishes, these tarts have style. Big style. Everything is bigger in Texas, so it’s no surprise that the spiky meringue tops you see here were created with the infamous go-big-or-go-home hairstyles we’ve all come to love {or love to hate} in mind.

I happen to like big hair. And I happen to love big hair on lemon meringue tarts.

Though a stand mixer and a blow-torch will make your life easier {or more fun, when it comes to the blow torch part}, you can certainly make do with a hand mixer and your broiler. The tarts are quite easy to make, despite their dramatic and awe-inducing appearance – making them perfect for a dinner party or any other time you’re baking to impress. And after months of pumpkin and chocolate, a clever little riff on classic lemon meringue may be just what the doctor ordered.

Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts

Recipe from Rebecca Rather, the Pastry Queen

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups pecans or sliced almonds
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt

Lemon-Lime Curd:

• 10 extra-large egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the meringue)
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Meringue:

• 10 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar

To make the crusts:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them in the oven for 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. (If using almond slices, toast for 5-7 minutes). Coarsely chop the pecans.

With your fingers, butter eight 4 3/8 inch, 1-cup capacity disposable foil tartlet pans {I used my Wilton tart pans}, using about 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter total.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the vanilla, then gradually add the flour and salt and combine on low speed until incorporated. Add the nuts and mix on low speed just until they are incorporated. Form the dough into a ball – it will be sticky – and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide into 8 equal portions and press into the prepared pans, making sure it comes up to the top edge of the pans. If the dough sticks to your hands, dust them with flour as often as necessary.

Bake the crust about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes before filling with lemon-lime curd.

To make the curd:

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice and zest in the top of a double boiler. Add the butter to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until melted and smooth. Cook about 40 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. The curd should be thick, resembling the consistency of loose custard. Transfer the warm mixture to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the curd, sealing it and leaving no air between the wrap and the curd. Refrigerate the curd for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. For express cooling, freeze it for at least 1 hour.

To make the meringue:

Set a large, perfectly clean metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Pour in the egg whites and sugar. Heat the egg whites and sugar while whisking constantly until the sugar melts and there are no visible grains in the meringue. Take a little meringue mixture and rub it between your fingers to make sure all sugar grains have melted. Remove the meringue from over the simmering water and whip it with a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on low speed for 5 minutes; increase the speed to high and beat 5 minutes longer, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler. To assemble the tarts, spoon the chilled lemon-lime curd into the crusts, filling them about three-quarters of the way to the top. Pile the meringue on top of the curd. Style the meringue with your fingers by plucking at it to tease the meringue into jagged spikes.

Set the tarts on the middle rack of the oven and broil until the meringue topping turns golden brown, about 1 minute. Watch the tarts closely, as they can turn from browned to burnt in a matter of seconds. (If you are using a kitchen torch {like I did!}, hold it 2 to 3 inches away from the meringue and move the flame slowly around the meringue until it is browned all over.) The tarts should be served the day they are assembled.

Note: I halved the recipe, making 4 tarts, and it came out perfectly. These babies are rich, and – you guessed it – big (!) so feel free to cut them in half for serving. Just place a butter knife in a glass of warm water and cut right through.