Little Lime Meringue Tarts

Meringues: Preheat the oven to 75 ̊C. Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt to soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar and beat until thick and glossy. Add the sifted icing sugar and the lime zest and beat for 1 minute. Pipe tiny meringues onto a lined baking tray and cook for approximately 11⁄2 hours or until crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Pastry: Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes. Add the egg and process until smooth. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and pulse to just bring together. Tip onto the bench and form into a flat disc. The pastry will be very soft. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Roll the pastry out gently on a floured bench. Cut out 8 x 10 cm circles.

Line lightly greased ½ cup capacity muffin tins then refrigerate again until firm. Bake the tarts blind* for 12 minutes, remove the paper and beans and cook for another 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.

Filling: Beat the goat’s cheese, sugar, lime zest and juice until smooth then whisk in the eggs and cream. Pour into the tart shells. Bake 20 minutes or until the filling is just set. Set aside to cool.

To serve: Top each tart with meringues and lightly dust with icing sugar. These tarts are best if not refrigerated. Make and eat them on the same day. Makes 8 tarts

* To ‘bake blind’ – line a prepared pastry case with baking paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. The beans support the pastry as it cooks. Bake in a preheated 190°C oven for 10-12 minutes before removing the paper and weights. If the pastry is not going to be cooked further with a filling, reduce the temperature to 175°C until completely cooked and golden.

Menu: Serve with a Spring Vegetable Salad with Mint and Walnut Oil and Baked Salmon with Preserved Lemon Dressing.