LEMON: Mini lemon meringues

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
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. 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.

  3. Divide the egg and set white and yolk apart in bowls.
  4. In a small (cold) saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, water, 1/4 c sugar and cornstarch.

  5. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick and gooey, like wallpaper paste.

  6. Stir in remaining 1 T butter followed by egg yolk.

  7. Spoon thickened warm lemon curd into ramekins atop crumb crust.
  8. Bake custards for 15 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool.
  9. 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.

  10. Spoon meringue onto custards.
  11. 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!
  12. Let cool again then serve.

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