Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Preparation

• 1
  To make the lemon curd, finely zest 2 of the lemons, making sure not to take any of the bitter pith, squeeze out the juice and put both into a heatproof bowl.
• 2
  Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir in the golden caster sugar until it dissolves. Cut 50g of butter into small pieces and add to the mixture, stirring until it melts.
• 3
  Beat 2 of the eggs and the yolk of one more egg and gradually stir into the lemon mixture, Cook very gently and stir for another 10-15 mins until it begins to thicken. Allow to cool slightly then strain into a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge.
• 4
  To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Cut 50g of room temperature butter into small pieces and rub into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• 5
  Gradually mix in cold water, about one and a half tablespoons, until you bring it to a dough. Knead briefly, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• 6
  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or 180 degrees fan oven. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin.
• 7
  Roll the dough out fairly thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut out discs with a small cutter, mine was just over 5cm in diameter, and place in the prepared tin; I made 20. prick the bottom of each and bake for 8-10 minutes. Leave to cool.
• 8
  When the pastry has cooled for a while, add a dollop of lemon curd to fill each tiny tart. Turn the oven temperature down to 180 degrees or 160 degrees fan oven.
• 9
  To make the meringue, beat 2 eggs vigorously until they make soft peaks. Add the white caster sugar very gradually as you continue to beat, and add a few drops of lemon juice, until the mixture makes stiff peaks.
• 10
  Use a piping bag to pipe little whirls of meringue on top of the tarts, and bake them in the oven without opening the door for about 15 minutes. Cool for a moment or two in the tin and then carefully lift out onto a cooling tray.