Strawberry & Rhubarb Meringue Tart
A buttery pate sucree pastry base, filled with a strawberry rhubarb mixture that becomes jammy in the oven, all topped with a torched Italian meringue. The perfect Spring dessert!
Prep Time40 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
chill time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Servings: 9 -inch tart
Author: Vicki @ Passionate Baker
for the pate sucree/pastry
- 112.5 g salted butter, soft
- 50 g icing sugar, sifted
- 1/4 lemon , zested
- 30 g egg yolks
- 175 g plain flour
for the filling
- 150 g caster sugar
- 35 g plain flour
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- zest of one orange
- juice of 1/2 an orange
- 200 g strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 200 g rhubarb, chopped into small chunks
for the meringue
- 90 g egg whites
- 180 g caster sugar
- 40 mls water
for the pate sucree/pastry
In a bowl with an electric whisk – or a stand mixer – cream together the butter, sugar, lemon zest until fluffy, about 1-2-minutes.
Add the egg yolks into the batter and beat to combine fully. Add the flour & beat until a dough forms. Use your hands to form it into a disc shape, squeezing any loose crumbs together, and wrap it tightly in a layer of cling film. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 20-minutes.
Lightly grease a 9-inch tart tin with butter and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Once chilled, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, to about 4mm thick, turning the pastry often. Line your prepared tin with the pastry, trimming off any excess, and pop in the freezer for 15-minutes or until very cold.
Cover the frozen pastry with a layer of baking parchment, fill with baking beans/rice/etc, and blind bake in the preheated oven for 15/20-minutes, or until you see the edges of the tart shell go lightly golden in colour. Remove the parchment paper + baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5-minutes, or until the base of the tart is starting to colour. Leave to cool completely.
for the filling
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add all of the ingredients to a large saucepan set over a medium heat and stir to combine. Simmer the mixture, stirring frequently, and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit softens down, about 7-minutes.
Pour into the par-baked shell and bake in the preheated oven for 30-minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the dough is deeply golden. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
for the meringue
Place the egg whites in the base of your stand-mixer with the whisk attachment. Do not whip, but have ready.
In a medium pot, combine the sugar and water, stirring gently with a wooden spoon until evenly mixed. Place over a medium heat, continue to stir gently, and monitor the temperature of the mix with a kitchen thermometer.
When the sugar mixture reaches 110°C, turn the stand-mixer to a low-med speed & begin whipping the egg whites. When the sugar reaches 118-119°C, remove from the heat.
Ensuring the egg white mixture is frothy & slightly voluminous, slowly begin to pour the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl and into the egg whites, all while the mixture is going at medium speed.
Turn the mixer to med-high speed & whisk together until the mixture is cool, stiff & very shiny – about 7-minutes. It is finished when you remove the whisk & a stiff peak forms.
to assemble
Dollop the meringue on top of the tart and spread it around with an offset spatula or spoon.
Using a kitchen blowtorch, lightly brown the meringue until scorched all over. Enjoy in large slices!