Citrus Curd & Pistachio Meringue Tarts

These individual tarts are a celebration of winter citrus. They may take a few days to make, but all good things are worth the wait!

We start out with blind baking some crisp pastry shells. I like the shave down the tops with a microplane once they're baked so they're perfectly neat. They are filled with a thin layer of soft nutty pistachio frangipane. After another quick stint in the oven, they are cooled before a spoonful of tart raspberry compote is spread on top. The third layer is our buttery tangy citrus curd, made with grapefruit and orange, which is topped off with a sweet mallowy swiss-meringue. 

Biting into these, you hit that mallowy meringue first before the citrus curd, compote and frangipane all incased in crumbly pastry. Sometimes a punchy zing from a fresh grapefruit segment chiming in. Its reminiscent of fancy marmalade on toast and it was an absolute joy to make. They're that breeze of freshness we are all craving during the last leg of winter and a little bit of welcoming sunshine adorning the counter top.

Please note that the sweet paste recipe makes enough for 12 tarts when you re-roll every bit of it, though these recipes are for 6 tarts only. You can make less, however 1 recipe uses one egg, so I just make a full recipe and keep any leftover pastry in the freezer for another time. The citrus curd recipe also makes double the amount needed, however it only uses 1 egg. The leftover curd can be frozen for another time.

Pastry Tools needed: (excluding normal utensils like whisks, pans etc)
6 x 8cm Tart Rings
Stand Mixer
Rolling Pin
Hand Blender, optional
Small Palette Knife
Blow Torch
Small Sieve

Ingredients - makes 6 individual 8cm tarts
Sweet Paste:
130g unsalted butter, room temp
80g icing sugar, sieved
50g eggs (1 medium egg)
240g strong flour
1/2 tsp salt

Pistachio Frangipane:
50g eggs (1 medium egg)
70g icing sugar
70g unsalted butter, softened
60g ground pistachios
20g ground almonds
8g custard powder

Raspberry Compote:
100g frozen raspberries
25g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cornflour

Citrus Curd:
60ml fresh grapefruit juice
20ml fresh orange juice
Zest of half an orange
1 egg
2 egg yolks
140g caster sugar
10g cornflour
160g unsalted butter, cold

Swiss Meringue:
130g egg whites
230g caster sugar
25g ground pistachios, to decorate
Grapefruit segments, to decorate
Edible flowers, to decorate

Method
Day One:
For the sweet pastry; lightly cream the soft butter and icing sugar together until combined (don’t over cream it.) Add in the eggs and mix. Lastly, add in the flour and salt. Mix to combine, taking care not to overwork the pastry. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm, pat it into a rough square and refrigerate overnight.

For the pistachio frangipane; lightly cream together the butter and icing sugar until smooth. Once combined, mix in the ground almonds, ground pistachios and custard powder. Gradually add in the eggs, making sure to scrape down the bowl as you mix. Spoon into a container and refrigerate overnight.

For the raspberry compote; mix the caster sugar and cornflour together before adding it into a saucepan followed by the raspberries. Place over low heat, stirring occasionally until the raspberries break down. Let the compote boil for a few minutes until thickened. Place into a container with clingfilm on the surface and refrigerate until cold.

For the citrus curd; whisk together the grapefruit juice, orange juice, eggs, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally when cold but constantly when hot. Continue to cook until the curd starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour into a jug and blend using a hand blender. Cover with clingfilm, pressing it against the surface of the curd so that it doesn’t form a skin. Chill in the fridge overnight.

Day Two:
To line the tarts; lightly grease six 8cm tart rings and set them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Take the pastry from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly floured worktop to approx. 2.5mm thick. Cut out six discs which are a few cm bigger than the rings, re-rolling the scrap pastry as needed. Line each tart ring by laying a pastry disc on top and gently easing it down into the inner sides of the prepared ring. Once the pastry is fully pushed into the corners, run a sharp knife around the top edge to remove any excess pastry. Place the lined tarts on your prepared baking tray. Place the tray into the freezer for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Take 6 cupcake liners and flatten them out. Push one inside each of the lined tarts and fill with baking beans or rice until completely full. Bake for 15 minutes before rotating the tray, and baking for another 10-15 minutes. The tarts should be golden. Leave them to cool for 10 minutes before removing both the baking beans and cupcake liners.

Take the pistachio frangipane from the fridge, spoon it into a piping bag and pipe a thin layer in the bottom of each blind baked tart shell. Alternatively, you can spread it into the tart cases with a spoon. Bake for for 15-18 minutes or until puffed and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely before removing the tart rings.

To assemble the tarts; spread a small amount of raspberry compote on top of the frangipane, making sure to leave enough space for the curd. Spoon in the citrus curd and spread flat using a palette knife so that it is flush with the top tart edge. Place the tarts into the freezer for half an hour to set the curd.

For the swiss-meringue; whisk together the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer to combine. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure that the bowl isn’t touching the water. Cook the meringue until it reaches 70°C, whisking occasionally. If you don’t have a thermometer, it should be hot to the touch as well as feel smooth when rubbed between your index finger and thumb (meaning the sugar has melted). Whisk the cooked egg whites on high, on your stand mixer, until you have a cooled and fluffy meringue.

To finish the tarts; place the meringue in a piping bag fitted with a St. Honore piping tip. Pipe three lines spaced evenly apart on the top of the tart. Tip the tart slightly on its side and dust with ground pistachios through a small sieve. Fill in the gaps by piping two more lines of meringue. Run a small palette knife around the edge, in one direction, to smooth the unfinished ends of meringue. Blow torch the plain meringue lines and refrigerate the tarts for at least 1 hour to set.

While the tarts set, cut some grapefruit segments and leave them to dry on kitchen paper so that they don’t ruin the meringue with their juices later on.

Once the tarts have set; Pipe three small dots of compote within the meringue crevice's. Arrange your grapefruit segments on top followed by the edible flower petals. Theses are best served on the day they where made, but will keep for the following day.