Meyer Lemon Chiffon Tart
Wait. I know what you’re thinking. Why is this girl constantly using lemons and blueberries in her dessert recipes?!! Well…..here’s the thing. I have a blueberry problem and I have a thing for lemons. It’s clearly blueberry season around here and they are coming into the market by the bush load. I buy up containers of them like they are going to be extinct, wash them, dry them and freeze them so that I can have them in the winter when a single blueberry can cost upwards of a dollar. Well….not really but they are stupidly expensive when they are not grown locally.
As you can see I was still holding my friend’s tart pan hostage in my home and last weekend I had yet to accomplish the goal I had set for myself. That was to create a crust that didn’t fall apart or shrink when I released the tart from the pan. Well folks……..I DID IT. What I came up with was a double graham cracker crust that was packed in firmly and baked in the tart pan first before placing in the lemon chiffon filling. In my world, when it comes to graham crusts, it’s double or nothing. I think I could eat the crust off of just about EVERYTHING and leave the filling behind (with the exception of this filling because it is too good).
So I was once again on the dessert committee for a dinner hosted by my son and his girlfriend on Saturday night. I had to come up with a mostly dairy free dessert so my son could enjoy it (FYI there is butter in the crust but it doesn’t bother his tummy). I remember my late mother-in-law Myrna used to make a lemon and blueberry dessert that was always a family hit. What I did was this…..combined my favorite graham crust recipe with the famous Myrna lemon blueberry combo and voila…….a lemon chiffon tart that earned a place in my dessert top 10 list.
Oh and in this recipe I used Meyer Lemons instead of lemon lemons. What’s the difference? Here’s a little history lesson on this fellow.
A Meyer Lemon is believed to be a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin or orange. Meyer lemons are named for Frank Meyer, the man who brought them to the United States in 1908. Thanks Frank!
What’s so special about a Meyer Lemon? For starters, they’re much sweeter than regular lemons, and they have an amazing citrus taste that comes from their mandarin/orange descent. Mr. Meyer doesn’t come cheap but he’s certainly worth it if you can find him at the local market.
- 1 (.25 ounce) package unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup cold water
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice – I used 3 Meyer Lemons
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 cups finely ground graham cracker
- crumbs
- 1 tbl sugar
- pinch of cinnamon - optional but really good
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted (equivalent to ¾ stick)
- Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and pinch of cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 9 inch pie plate or 10 inch tart pan - like I used which I loved!
- Bake at 375F for 7-10 minutes. Cool.
- Soften gelatin in water 5 minutes.
- Beat yolks and add ½ cup of the sugar, lemon juice and salt. Cook in the top of a double boiler, stirring constantly, until of pudding consistency. Add grated lemon zest and softened gelatin and stir thoroughly. Let mixture get nice and thick stirring once or twice. Cool for 5 minutes.
- In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff, adding remaining ½ cup sugar while whipping. Fold egg whites gently into lemon pudding.
- Pour filling into baked graham crust and chill in refrigerator. Serve when firm. Garnish with berries if desired.
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whats the yield for the filling?
Hi!
The recipe is fairly straight forward. The sugars all all divided correctly step-by-step. I hope the end result was good! I have been making this for over 30 years. Always a hit with our family.
xo
Confusing which sugar goes where. I would suggest Separating crust and filling. We ended up having to much sugar in the crust I assume. Reread it multiple times instructions are messy. We have put it into chill we will see…
Hi Linda! I’m so happy you loved the tart!! I tend to do the same thing….eat the whole darn tart myself ! I have made candied clementine orange slices. You may have seen them on my Instagram feed. I used them as a cake garnish. It’s a fairly old recipe that was posted on another blog that I contribute to weekly. If you go to Littlemisspartyplanner.com and search clementine you may be able to find it if not just let me know and I would be happy to email you the recipe. Xo Debi
I made this tart for company that cancelled at the last minute. It is so delicious, I ate the whole thing myself over the course of a week! I thought I saw something about making candied Meyer lemon slices on the site, but I cannot find it now. Please send me the recipe if you have it. Thanks, Linda
well….that’s a great question. What I do is this…release it VERY slowly and hope that it stays together! What really helps is the fact that you are baking the crust prior to filling and chilling. That seems to help it stay nice and firm. Try to also release the pan when you take it out of the fridge. And make sure you plate in on a cake stand with the bottom of the tart pan still underneath. There is no way you are going to get it to slide off that round dish without it completely falling apart. No one will know the difference. Good luck and let me know if you liked the recipe! xo debi
How do you release this tart from the pan? I always have trouble with that an usually serve it in the pan rather than having a mess. Lol. Haven’t tried this recipe yet, but would love to display the way you have.
Oops, I didn’t sign in per ladt comment. It’s Cindy
Hi Eve!
That’s great! I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it! Xo
Made this for my cooking group get together over the weekend. Everyone raved over it and the recipe was requested by everyone!!
Hi Daniella!
So happy you loved it! It’s a family fave! Xo
Made this over the weekend for a Father’s Day BBQ – turned out perfectly and was such a hit! Totally delicious. And it was so easy to make. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi! I’m wondering if you used the right size tart pan? That’s why I doubled the crust so it would be nice and heavy when I released it from the pan. Also, did you use the Meyer lemons? They are much sweeter than regular lemons. Next time try using regular. Not sure why it was orange in color? Mine was a light almost white yellowish color. I made it the day before and it turned out great after it had a chance to set in the fridge.
Hi Debi! To be honest, I think it was too much crust, too sweet for me. Also, the lemon pudding didn’t turn out like the color you had..mine was a little orangy looking. I actually made it on Saturday night so that it would be ready for the next day for brunch, celebrating Father’s Day. Do you have to serve this on the same day?! I would like to try making it again soon for my friends gathering!
Give it a go Cindy! Let me know how it turns out
Debi
Hi! I’m going to try make this for Father’s Day. Love your blog!
oopsie! My bad….I added the cinnamon as an extra boost for the crust but it’s totally optional. I will revise the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out. I think I wrote this blog when I was tired. ha ha!
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I notice it says “add cinnamon” to the crust, but I don’t see a quantity for it.
Oh my gosh…..thank you so much Mary Jo ! It means the world to me to hear such kind words. As a fairly new blogger and photographer I still have a long way to go but the adventure has a been so exciting. I love what I do and this blog is the perfect venue to express my passion with these recipes and photos.
Love your work, your passion, your artistry.