Mango lemon curd meringue tarts to brighten up this rainy winter. A cripsy, rich pâte sablée pastry, with a zesty mango-lemon curd filling and a mini cloud of meringue topping. This was my attempt to re-create an Ottolenghi passionfruit curd tart that we had at his restaurant that was out of this world. But after visiting ever grocery store in town I could not find anything passionfruit, but found mango puree that is so equally delicious.
These are definitely a more labour of love with a three step making process. But it can be divided up as the curd and pastry can be made ahead of time with only the meringue to be made before assembly. I opted to go with italian meringue here as it’s that bit more stable and means if you don’t eat these alll in one go, you can keep these in the fridge and they will be just as delicious the next day. You can also opt for swiss meringue which is a little easier to make, but I have found that it will weep into the tarts if left for too long. I made these into mini tarts but I’ve included instructions to make one larger tart if you prefer.
Italian Meringue Tips
Wipe the inside of the stand mixer with lemon or vinegar. This helps remove any potential grease from the bowl and the acid helps stabilize the meringue mixture.
Use fresh, room temperature egg whites
What you will need for the Italian Meringue
Candy thermometer
Blow torch
Earl Grey Meringue Version
I made an updated version of these tarts with earl grey meringue topping. I’ve added the earl grey version below, it’s completely optional but really ups the flavours!
Mango-Lemon Curd Tarts
Ingredients
100g icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Curd
5 egg yolks
115g (1/2 cup) butter
150g (3/4 cup) sugar
118ml (1/2 cup) lemon juice + zest of 2 lemons
225g mango puree
Italian Meringue
190g (1 cup) granulated sugar
45g (3 tbsps) water
3 egg whites (100g), room temperature
For Earl Grey Meringue (optional)
1 tsp earl grey tea
1 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
Pastry crust
Beat the softened butter and icing sugar in a bowl or stand mixer until creamy. Add the egg, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until fully combined.
Add in the flour and salt, beat on a low speed until the dough just comes together and there is no more visible flour, be careful not to overmix. The dough should be creamy and smooth, if it appears a little dry add 1 tablespoon of cream/milk and mix till just combined.
Press the dough together into a round disk, wrap in food wrap and chill for at least an hour, or you can freeze for later use. When ready to bake, remove the dough and let soften so that it’s still cool, but just soft enough to roll.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough out to about 3-5mm thick. If making a large tart fit into either a buttered 9” tart pan and trim the top of the pastry by running a knife around the edge of the pan. For mini tarts butter the inside of a muffin pan, use a large circular cookie cutter and cut circles of pastry then place into muffin pan.
Prick the bottom of the tart crusts with a fork. Line with parchment paper and baking weights.
Blind bake the tart crust for 20mins for a large tart, 10mins for mini tarts. Remove the pie weights and continue to bake for about 5-10mins till the crust just starts turning golden brown. Allow to cool then carefully transfer to a cooling rack after 10mins. Let cool completely.
Curd
Zest the lemon into the sugar and let sit for 5 mins to help draw out the lemon flavour. Separate out the egg yolks and add to the sugar. Add lemon juice and mango puree and whisk all together. Add together with the butter to a pot and heat on a low-medium heat for about 15mins whisking continuously so that it doesn’t curdle. It’s done when it thickly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and sieve into a bowl. If keeping for later press a piece of plastic on top of the curd and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
Italian Meringue
In a saucepan, add the sugar and water over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook on medium-high heat until the sugar syrup reaches 240F. While it is boiling add the egg whites to a clean bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the egg whites are just forming soft peaks. Once the syrup reaches 240F slowly stream the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl with the mixer on medium speed. Turn up high and whisk until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
For earl grey meringue (optional)
Before making the meringue grind earl grey tea and sugar together in a mortar and pestle. Make the meringue as above. When you have stiff peaks add the earl grey/sugar mix and fold in till just combined.
To assemble
Fill the pastry cases with the curd. If using from the fridge you may need to heat gently in a saucepan to a thinner consistency so that it will settle flatter on top. Refrigerate the tarts for at least a couple of hours to firm up the curd. Pipe or spoon the meringue on top of the tarts and torch all over with a blow torch.
