Mini lemon meringues
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Lemon meringue pie was my great-grandma's specialty. She made them very tart, which I consider the perfect foil to the sweet meringue. This meringue-topped custard uses a crumb crust to capture the flavor of a pie without the fuss.
Course:
Dessert
Cuisine:
American
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 4 graham crackers or digestive biscuits smashed to a very fine crumb
- 2 T butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1/3 c water
- 3 T cornstarch
- 1/4 c sugar + 1 T sugar preferably superfine
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350F.
-
Melt 1 T of the butter in the microwave (be sure to cover). Stir cookie crumbs into butter. Press mixture into bottoms of 2 oven-safe ramekins.
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Divide the egg and set white and yolk apart in bowls.
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In a small (cold) saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, water, 1/4 c sugar and cornstarch.
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Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and gooey, like wallpaper paste.
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Stir in remaining 1 T butter followed by egg yolk.
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Spoon thickened warm lemon curd into ramekins atop crumb crust.
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Bake custards for 15 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool.
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When lemon custards are fully cooled, combine egg white and 1 T superfine sugar in a deep mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer starting at low speed and increasing gradually until soft waves are formed and sugar is dissolved.
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Spoon meringue onto custards.
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Broil the custards on the 2nd oven shelf for 30 to 60 seconds, until meringue tips are browned. Watch constantly during this step; it is easy to burn them!
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Let cool again then serve.