Lemon Meringue Tart

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 8

Spring has sprung (ok, kill me now for saying that) and people are going to start asking you to go outside and do stuff. DO NOT PANIC. Outside can be alright, as long as you have delicious treats to keep your mind off the fact you’re not inside watching Netflix. My Lemon Meringue Tart is the perfect outdoor companion but be warned: people will invite you outside more often just so you bring this bad boy along with you. Don’t blame me.

Ingredients 

Crust

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 cup macadamias
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup agave syrup

Filling

• 100g pack silken tofu
• 3 large lemons, juice and grated rind
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon agar agar powder

Meringue

• 1/3 cup chickpea juice (the less salt, the better)
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (your local supermarket should have it)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C and grease a rectangular, loose bottom tart pan (you can use round too).
2. Pop the nuts in a ziplock bag and then wrap it in a tea-towel before going to town on those mofos with a rolling pin.
3. Once the nuts are nicely crushed (quite fine but some little chunks are good), add them to a bowl.
4. Melt together the coconut oil and agave syrup before adding to the bowl and mixing well
5. Press the nut mixture into the base and sides of the tin.
6. Using a sheet of baking paper, lay it over the crust and press down gently again to even out the crust.
7. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until it’s deep golden brown. Allow to cool.
8. While the crust is cooling, blend together the tofu, lemon juice, lemon rind, caster sugar, agar agar and turmeric until smooth.
9. Transfer to a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-high heat while stirring constantly.
10. Once thickened, gently pour it into the crust. Stop when you nearly reach the brim as you don’t want it to overflow.
11. Carefully transfer to the fridge to set.
12. While the filling is setting, make your meringue!
13. Using an electric mixer, whip the chickpea juice until it turns white.
14. Add the caster sugar one teaspoon at a time before adding the xanthan gum.
15. Keep whipping til you’ve got stiff, white peaks of meringue.
16. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe swirls or dollops of meringue evenly over the top of the lemon filling.
17. Using a cooking torch, run it evenly over the top of the meringue, back and forth until you achieve a nice, golden finish.