Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [76]
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights or beans, and bake for another 5 minutes, or until beige and flaky. Transfer the pie shells to a wire rack and cool. The recipe can be made ahead to this point. When they are completely cooled, seal the tart shells in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
4. To make the filling, lightly beat the egg yolk in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk the water, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat and whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for 3 minutes, or until thickened, whisking constantly.
5. Whisk ¼ cup of the hot lemon mixture into the egg yolk until smooth, then whisk this lemon mixture back into the saucepan. Return the saucepan to very low heat and continue cooking and whisking for about 15 seconds, just to set the eggs. Do not let the mixture return to a boil. Divide this hot mixture between the two prepared tart shells and set them aside to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
6. To make the meringue, increase the oven temperature to 500°F. Beat the egg white and salt in a small bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until foamy. Slowly add the sugar in a steady, needle-thin stream, beating all the while; continue beating until soft peaks form, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a clean, dry rubber spatula as necessary. Do not overheat—the peaks should be glistening and moist (see Note). Quickly beat in the vanilla, just until combined. Spoon the beaten egg white mixture onto each of the two filled tart shells, gently spreading it to the edges with the back of a teaspoon. Do not press down, or you will lose some of the rise in the meringue. Seal the edges by gently pushing the meringue against the crust until it adheres all the way around and there are no gaps.
7. Bake for about 4 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. If you’ve used a tart pan with a removable bottom, tap the bottom of the pie shells to loosen their edges. Push the bottom of the tart shell up until the tart comes clean of the metal sides. Once the tart is free of the form’s metal sides, run a thin knife under the removable bottoms to loosen the tarts from the metal bottom, then gently transfer the tarts to two serving plates. If you’ve used a paper pastry shell, either peel it away from the tart or simply serve the tart in its paper shell, scooping it out to eat it.
NOTE: To test if egg whites are properly beaten, turn off the mixer and lift the still beaters out of the egg whites; silky, droopy, but somewhat firm peaks should form where the beaters have pulled the mixture up. You may need to dip the still beaters into the mixture once or twice to tell. If you rub a pinch of meringue between your fingers, you should feel no sugar granules.
STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE TARTLETS makes 2 tarts
These are old-fashioned strawberry tarts. They’re topped with whipped cream and have a vanilla-wafer crust, which is spread with melted chocolate as a base for the strawberries.
FOR THE CRUST
16 vanilla wafer cookies
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
FOR THE FILLING
1 pint ripe strawberries
¼ cup sugar, preferably superfine sugar
cup semisweet or bitter sweet chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons melted (see page 17), the remainder reserved separately
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon amaretto, hazelnut liqueur, or other nut liqueur
1. Position the rack in the middle of the