Mango Meringue tart

i saved all the dough scraps from last week berry tart, there was quite a bit of scraps and i couldn't bring myself to throw them away. so i decided to make mini tarts again. I reworked the dough a bit more for the scraps to become one big piece. the shell turned out ok, not as flaky as last week but it's kind of expected. i adapted the mango curd recipe i found on line from epicurious and the meringue recipe from Martha Stewart.

for the shell, left over pate brisee from last week berry tart.

for the meringue (more than enough for 20 mini boat tarts, 3-1/4" size)
75gr egg white (about 2 large egg whites)
40gr sugar
pinch of salt

for the mango curd (enough for 60 mini boat tarts, 3-1/4" size)
240 gr mango cut in 1" pieces.
85gr sugar
30gr lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
60gr butter, cut into 6 slices, chilled
70gr egg yolk, about 4 yolks.
pinch of salt

puree all ingredients except the egg yolks, i used hand blender for this task. add yolks to mixture and blend well. strain mixture through a sieve.
whisk curd mixture over simmering water until curd temperature registers 170F, this took me about 20-25 minutes. remove from simmering water, whisk in the chilled butter 1 slice at a time. when the last slice of butter is incorporated, the curd should be cool to the touch. cover and let it rest in refrigerator for 3 hrs or overnight.


roll out tart dough, fit dough into mini boat pans. prick the dough a few time with a fork, line with foil and add pie weight. i just stacked another boat pan on top and add pie weight since it was kind of challenging to line a tiny tart shell with foil. chilled for 30 minutes. bake for about 12-15 minutes at 375F. since the tart shells are smaller, they were baked faster this time.

let the tart shell cool down completely. fill tart shells with curd, let them rest in refrigerator while making meringue.

whisk egg whites with salt over simmering water until frothy, add sugar and whisk until sugar disolves and the meringue is warm to the touch. remove from simmering water and beat util stiff peak. pile it on top of tarts and set it under broiler at 500F for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. watch it carefully since meringue get burnt real fast. i set the tarts on the bottom rack so the meringue would brown slower.

i've never made meringue before, the meringue was kind of sliding allover the place when i piled it on the first couple tarts and the meringue texture was kind of like dried foam. i decided to deflate the meringue by stirring vigorously with a flexible spatula. the meringue then seemed more agreeable to work with.