Raspberry Meringue Tart

I brought this month’s Delicious magazine (November issue) just for its cover recipe, Rosewater and Raspberry Meringue Tarts. Yes, I'm not going to lie, it doesn’t take much for me to buy a food magazine or cookbook.

These raspberry meringue tarts are so beautiful and a little christmassy, don’t you think. I love the intense red of the raspberry filling in contrast with the white meringues, and each meringue toasted to a beautiful golden brown.

These raspberry meringue tarts taste amazing too. The raspberry filling is both sweet and sour, and not overly rich. The meringue with the taste and texture of toasted marshmallow. The sweet crust pastry with the perfect buttery touch.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe. I have omitted the rosewater because I have a strong aversion towards rosewater. I associate the smell of rosewater with potpourri that was often used to fragrance the toilet. However, if you like that sort of thing in your dessert, the recipe in the Delicious magazine calls for 2 teaspoons of rosewater to be added with the rest of the raspberry filling ingredients.

The recipe also calls for a readymade crème vanilla bean sweet shortcrust pastry, which is a good quality pastry but expensive and not always available in shops. So I made my own sweet shortcrust pastry, using the same recipe that I made my strawberry tart with a few months ago. I think shortcrust pastry is just one of those things that are always better homemade with love.



Raspberry Meringue Tart
(Adapted from Delicious Magazine, November 2012 Issue)

Makes 6 numbers of 12cm tarts.

Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)
Recipe here.

Raspberry Filling
500 grams fresh or frozen thawed raspberries
50 grams arrowroot (you can also use cornflour)
80ml cold water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
110 grams caster sugar
4 egg yolks
50 grams unsalted butter, cubed

Meringue
4 egg whites
150 grams caster sugar

To make raspberry filling:
Puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor.

Place the arrowroot and cold water in a bowl, stirring to combine.

Place raspberry puree, arrowroot mixture, lemon juice and caster sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 3-4 minutes or until thick. Do not boil. Add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well with wooden spoon after each addition. Add the butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.

Strain the raspberry mixture through a sieve into a bowl, pressing down with the back of a spoon and discarding the solids. Allow the raspberry mixture to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

To make meringue:
Beat the egg whites with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

To assemble:
Fill tart shells with the chilled raspberry mixture. Pipe or spoon meringue over the filling. Brown meringue with a kitchen blowtorch or bake in a 200 degree celcius oven for 2-3 minutes until tinged golden.