Mini Lemon Meringue Pie Fillo Tartlet Recipe
It's been a lifelong love affair. It all started at the Serendipity preschool in Vancouver. To my 4-year old mind, it was a magical place. We made elaborate art projects out of paper towel rolls, spent hours playing on the backyard climbing gym and took turns holding the record cover (yes, it was that long ago) during afternoon rest time. The owner of the preschool, Gwen, was a white-haired grandmotherly angel who was put on this earth to teach and cherish children. And she made the perfect lemon meringue pie, the only thing that could possibly come out of the kitchen of an angel.
When Athens Foods asked if I would come up with a dessert recipe using their mini fillo shells, Gwen's perfect lemon meringue pie popped into my mind.
Of course, I could go through the process of making pie dough, but why do that when I can pull a box of fillo shells out of the freezer? They defrost in only 10 minutes. And besides, pie dough is not my forte, much to the despair of my pie-loving husband. The shells are the perfect solution for last-minute get-togethers with friends, or when you just don't feel like slaving away in the kitchen for hours.
If you have a good recipe for lemon curd, then by all means use that. However, I was really shooting for "easy" on all level, so I used some good store-bought lemon curd.
So, basically, all I had to actually make was the meringue, which requires beating some egg whites with a little sugar and cream of tartar. Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater, right? Yeah, I'm comfortable with that because these tartlets turned out perfectly, with a crispy shell, sweet and tangy filling and fluffy-as-air golden brown meringue. I think even Gwen would have approved.
The recipe:
Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Alternatively, you can use a large bowl with a hand mixer.
Beat on medium-high speed until the egg whites are frothy.
With the mixer running on medium-high, gradually add the sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Be sure not to underbeat the egg whites. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
Spoon 1 ½ teaspoons lemon curd into each Athens fillo shell. Place the filled shells on a baking sheet.
Either spoon about 1 tablespoon meringue onto each tartlet or pipe the meringue through a piping bag and tip.
Bake until the meringue is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature before serving.
Other summertime desserts:
Almond Meringue with Raspberry Sorbet
Cherry, Coconut & Honey Frozen Yogurt
Mini Lemon Meringue Pie Fillo Tartlet Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- pinch of cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 15 Athens mini fillo shells 1 package, defrosted
- 7 ½ tablespoons store-bought lemon curd such as Dickinson's
Instructions
- Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Alternatively, you can use a large bowl with a hand mixer.
- Beat on medium-high speed until the egg whites are frothy.
- With the mixer running on medium-high, gradually add the sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Be sure not to underbeat the egg whites. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Spoon 1½ teaspoons lemon curd into each Athens fillo shell. Place the filled shells on a baking sheet.
- Either spoon about 1 tablespoon meringue onto each tartlet or pipe the meringue through a piping bag and tip.
- Bake until the meringue is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the good people at Athens Foods. Also, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase the items shown from the links in this post, a small percentage of the sale will go to supporting Cookin’ Canuck.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Athens Foods. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Annum Tariq
I tried this recipe out when I could not find pie dough that was made without lard-disgusting. So I used the shells instead and reverted to this recipe rather than my previous one. Meringues are sort of a pain in the butt there are a lot of things that can go wrong with whipping eggs. I lost my cream of tartar so my whole process of whipping the eggs took 15 minutes and I still think it turned out wrong. So tips, make sure you use glass or metal and crack the egg white in a separate bowl then transfer. Beating to hard peaks is supposed to be when you stop beating I thought mine was around there it did get glossy so I baked it. Instead of the tips turning brown my whole meringue turned brown which was fine but not like the picture. So at the end I tasted one and there basically was not meringue instead it was a shell on top of the lemon curd. I'm pretty sure meringue is supposed to be like whipped cream but it disappeared on me in this recipe they were still pretty however. Make sure to heat the lemon curd before you place it in the shells makes it easier to pour and cooks the bottom of the meringue. The lemon curd was a bit too bitter for me I would taste then mix with sugar or a bit of frosting to your taste. An idea is also to use frosting on top instead of the meringue then no baking is required.
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Nutmeg Nanny
These are adorable and seem so simple 🙂 love this idea!
shelly (cookies and cups)
LOVE the idea of using the fillo dough as a crust.. so crispy and yummy!
steph@stephsbitebybite
These are so fun! Perfect pop-able treat!
Jeanette
Love this cute little treats Dara - so pretty!
Megan {Country Cleaver}
These are scrumptious Dara!! Lemon curd just makes me furiously HAPPY!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
They look so sweet and delicate and the perfect food for a summer party!
Kari@Loaves n Dishes
Two things that I don't mind cheating with in a recipe are pie dough and lemon curd; and as long as one of the elements of the dessert are made from scratch it's still homemade in my mind!
Donna
I love dishes that make it *seem* like you've been slaving forever!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
These are too stinking cute! I could just gobble them up instantly!
Jackie
Such a great use of those little shells! I also have great childhood memories of lemon meringue pie.
Cheryl
Oh these...these look fantastic, little convenient bite sized delights. Thank you for the recipe, my Nephews are gonna love em.
jamie @ green beans & grapefruit
Oh man- these are killer I can tell! I bet the texture the fillo gives totally makes it too.
Mr. & Mrs. P
We love small bites because they are perfect for parties and entertaining!!! These are adorable!!!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic
These are adorable, and I love how easy they are to make! I'm a big fan of shortcuts, especially if I can still end up with mouth-watering desserts like this!
Joanne T Ferguson
G'day! Your tartlets look lovely, TRUE!
Love the staging of your photos too!
Cheers! Joanne
Chris@TheCafeSucreFarine
I love your story about how magical your nursery experience was- I think my grandaughter is currently having a similar experience. She loves the simplicity I believe.....and that's what's so great about your luscious looking lemon bites. So simple, but so good. Thanks for sharing!