Mini meringue pies
We love these bite-size treats with crunchy biscuit casing, zesty lemon curd and a soft coconut cream meringue top. The lemon curd filling is versatile – we use it for raw dessert cake layers and even individual chocolate fillings. Experiment with alternate citrus flavours if you like – limes or oranges also work well.
Makes: 11 mini tarts
Ingredients:
For the chocolate tart shell
- 50 g wet nut milk pulp
- 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
For the lemon curd
- 60 ml coconut oil
- 40 cashews, soaked
- 80 ml rice malt syrup
- Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
- Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
- Pinch of ground turmeric
For the coconut cream meringue
- 400 ml coconut cream
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
- coconut sugar, for sprinkling
Method:
For the chocolate tart shell
- Using your hands, massage all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Divide the mixture into eleven equal portions and press into the tart tins, then freeze for 15 minutes. Once the shells are frozen, pop them out of the moulds and place on a mesh dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 40°C for 12–24 hours.
- Allow to cool.
For the lemon curd
- Melt the coconut oil over a bain-marie.
- Blend all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a high-speed blender until smooth.
- Add the coconut oil and blend until very smooth.
- Pour equal portions of the mixture into each tart shell and set in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For the coconut cream meringue
- Refrigerate the coconut cream overnight.
- Melt the coconut oil over a bain-marie.
- Scoop the solid cream off the top of the coconut cream and place the solid cream in a chilled bowl (discard the leftover water). Add the rice malt syrup and whisk to combine.
- While whisking, pour the coconut oil into the cream, continuing to whisk so the oil sets evenly.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe a little meringue onto the top of each tart.
- Sprinkle a tiny bit of coconut sugar over each meringue.
- Refrigerate until needed, or serve immediately.
This is an edited extract from Pana Chocolate, The Recipes by Pana Barbounis published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $36 and is available in stores nationally. Photographer: Armelle Habib.
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