Description
These festive Christmas meringue pies feature a spiced buttery shortcrust pastry base filled with a tangy citrus curd made from clementines, oranges, and lemon, topped with glossy, toasted meringue peaks. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these individual tarts combine crisp pastry, smooth citrus filling, and delicate sweetness with a light toasty finish.
Ingredients
Scale
Pastry
- 175g plain flour
- 1 tbsp golden icing sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 100g cold butter, chopped
- 1 egg yolk
Citrus Curd
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 8 clementines, zested and juiced (125ml juice needed)
- 3 oranges, juiced
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 100g golden caster sugar
- 90g butter, cut into small pieces
- 4 egg yolks
Meringue
- 200g caster sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 50ml water
Instructions
- Make the Pastry: Pulse together the flour, icing sugar, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ½ tsp fine salt in a food processor. Add the cold chopped butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, pulsing until a dough ball forms. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the Citrus Curd: Dissolve the cornflour in a splash of clementine juice. Pour into a pan with remaining clementine juice, orange juice, clementine zest, lemon juice, and golden caster sugar. Bring to a brief simmer, then remove from heat. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time, then add the egg yolks thoroughly. Return to low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and cool at room temperature.
- Blind-Bake the Pastry Cases: Roll out the pastry to a few millimeters thick and line eight individual 8-9 cm tart tins. Trim edges and chill for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas mark 6. Line pastry cases with parchment and baking beans. Bake for 10 minutes until golden, remove beans and bake an additional 5-8 minutes until completely dry and crisp. Cool in tins.
- Make the Meringue: Combine caster sugar and 50ml water in a pan and bring to boil. Simmer until the syrup reaches 116C on a sugar thermometer. When syrup reaches around 110C, whip egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream. Continue whisking until meringue cools to room temperature. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle.
- Assemble the Pies: Spoon or pipe an even layer of the cooled citrus curd into the chilled pastry cases, smoothing the surface. Pipe blobs and peaks of meringue over the curd to cover it completely.
- Finish the Meringue: Using a culinary blowtorch, briefly toast the meringue peaks until golden. Alternatively, place under a grill for 30 seconds to 1 minute, watching carefully to prevent burning. Serve immediately for best texture and flavor.
Notes
- Make the curd, blind-bake pastry cases, and prepare meringue a day in advance for ease on serving day.
- Bring all components to room temperature before assembly for best texture and finishing.
- If you don’t have a blowtorch, grill the meringue carefully to achieve the toasted effect.
- Ensure to chill pastry well before blind baking to prevent shrinkage.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: Christmas pie, meringue tart, citrus curd pie, festive dessert, holiday baking, spiced pastry, clementine curd, toasted meringue
