Citrus recipes are unbelievably refreshing in the summer. My friend is getting married in October, so I brought this lemon meringue tart to her stag & doe party a couple weeks ago. I garnished the tart with berries and mint leaves to make it a little more fancy-schmancy, and voila, you have the perfect summer dessert!

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Lemon Meringue Tart

For the crust:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 8.8-oz package speculoos cookies

For the filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon grated zest and 1/2 cup juice from 2 or 3 lemons
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the meringue:

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crust: 

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Crush the cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the melted butter until combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake in oven for 7 minutes. Let cool.

For the filling: 

Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking occasional and then more frequently as the mixture begins to thicken. When the mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, whisk in the egg yolks, two at a time. Whisk in zest, lemon juice, and then the butter. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.

For the meringue:

As soon as the filling is done, start the meringue (you want to keep the lemon filling hot until assembly).

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Mix cornstarch with water in small saucepan, bring to simmer, whisking occasionally at beginning and more frequently as mixture thickens. When mixture starts to simmer and turn translucent, remove from heat. Let cool while beating egg whites.

Mix cream of tartar and sugar together. Beat egg whites and vanilla in a stand mixer until frothy. Beat in sugar mixture until sugar is incorporated and mixture forms soft peaks. Add cornstarch mixture to the egg whites one tablespoon at a time. Beat meringue until stiff peaks form.

Pour lemon filling into the prepared crust. Immediately distribute meringue evenly over the pie and spread over the top, making sure the meringue attaches to the pie crust to prevent shrinking. Use back of spoon to create peaks all over the meringue.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!

Makes: one 9-inch tart