Mini Raspberry Lemon Tarts (video)

raspberry lemon meringue tarts with fresh raspberry sauce

Have you ever seen lemon meringue tartlets looking this delectable?! These mini raspberry lemon tart are not only pretty to look at but also delicious! I make these with a shortbread cookie crust and fill them with my ‘Homemade Lemon Curd’, a fresh raspberry sauce and finish them off  with torched meringue dollops. I love these raspberry tartlets for special occasions, holidays, birthdays and family get-togethers!

Watch My Mini Tarts Video!

Watch my video recipe for step-by-step instructions on how to make these mini tarts and the fillings! Want to receive new recipe emails in your inbox? Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!

Ingredients for Mini Raspberry Lemon Tarts

Here are the main ingredients you’ll need to make these mini desserts:

  • Butter, Sugar, Flour: for making the buttery, shortbread crust.
  • Lemon Juice: I recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for making the lemon curd filling.
  • Egg, Egg Yolks: for making homemade lemon curd.
  • Sugar
  • Raspberries: use fresh or frozen raspberries for making the tart raspberry sauce.
  • Egg Whites: for making the fluffy meringue topping.

How to Make Mini Tart Shells

To make any good tart, you need to start off with a great dough recipe!

  • For these mini raspberry tartlets, I decided to go with a shortbread crust to minimize shrinking and to give the tarts more flavor. You could use my ‘Homemade Pie Crust’ recipe but I prefer this one in this case.
  • Shortbread crust is what you would use to make sugar cookies. This dough is made with sugar, butter, eggs and flour – notice no leavening agents are added!
  • Before baking, this dough does need to chill but I find the easiest way to handle the dough is to do before it’s chilled. I roll out the dough thinly then cut and shape to my pan. In this video recipe, I used a mini cupcake pan (affiliate link) but you can also use tartlet tins if you have them! Chill the dough for at least an hour before baking!

*Note: if you are able to source pre-made tartlet shells, those would also work very well for this recipe and save you lots of time! These are typically sold in the frozen dessert section in some supermarkets.

lemon meringue tartlets with raspberry sauce and homemade lemon curd

Three Mini Tart Fillings!

For these mini lemon tartlets, I went with three fillings and combined together, they are heavenly!

  • Lemon Curd: First, I made my ‘Homemade Lemon Curd’ recipe. This is one that you can make a day ahead of time or even a week before and just keep it refrigerated. If you’re in a pinch for time, you can also use store-bought lemon curd.
  • Raspberry Sauce: Next, I made a fresh raspberry sauce, or raspberry coulis. It’s a simple sauce of just raspberries and sugar, cooked down and then strained of the seeds. I love the sweet and tart flavor!
  • Meringue Topping: And last, the meringue! This simple meringue is the perfect topping for the raspberry tartlets and I love to torch the meringue with my food torch!
close up of raspberry lemon tartlets with torched meringue topping

Assembling the Mini Raspberry Lemon Tarts!

Here’s how to put these together:

  1. Bake the crust: To put the mini tarts together, bake the crust in your preheated oven until the dough is a light golden color, then allow the shells to cool completely!
  2. Fillings: I like to transfer the lemon curd and raspberry sauce into disposable pastry bags or ziplock bags and pipe the filling into the tarts. Piping the filling makes the process super easy and quick! Fill the tarts almost to the top with lemon curd, then add a bit of raspberry sauce and follow with the meringue.
  3. Torch the Meringue: I used an Ateco French Star tip size #8 for the meringue. If you have a kitchen torch, lightly torch the meringue all over, then enjoy! These tartlets are best enjoyed with 24 hours, but can be refrigerated for longer.
lemon tartlets with raspberry sauce and lemon curd

More Recipes!

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Raspberry Lemon Tartlets video recipe

Mini Raspberry Lemon Tarts (video)

1 hour 30 minutes prep + 20 minutes cook
48 servings
Decadent raspberry lemon mini tarts with lemon curd, raspberry sauce and torched meringue as a topping!

Ingredients 

For Shortbread Crust:

  • 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

For Lemon Curd:

  • 2/3 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For Raspberry Sauce:

  • 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 1 cup sugar

For Meringue:

  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Making the Shortbread Crust:

  • Prepare the shortbread crust first. Place the softened butter and sugar into a mixer bowl and beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Add in the egg and salt and continue mixing for 1 minute, until the mixture is creamy. Add in the flour and mix on low speed for 1 minute, or until a soft dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and gently bring the dough together. Using a well-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/8th-inch thickness. You don’t want it to be too thick or too thin. Next, use a 2-inch round cookie cutter and cut out circles for each tart.
  • Drop the shaped dough into mini cupcakes tins or tartlet tins and shape the dough with back of small spoon or your fingertips. Once the whole pan has been filled, place the pan into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour. Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350F/177C and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the crust is just light golden brown. Allow the tartlet shells to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Making the Lemon Curd:

  • Next, prepare the lemon curd; this can be prepared the day before. Juice approximately 4 to 5 large lemons over a fine mesh strainer set up over a glass bowl or large measuring cup. Double strain the juice for smoothest lemon curd. Set juice aside. In a separate glass mixing bowl, combine the eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is thick and more pale in color. It should ribbon off the whisk. Pour the mixture into a stainless steel pot and add the lemon juice; whisk to combine. Cook the lemon curd over medium-low heat, stirring constantly along the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the curd thickens and starts to bubble lightly. Remove from heat immediately. Add the unsalted butter and vanilla and whisk until the butter is completely melted. Allow the lemon curd to cool completely in the refrigerator.

Making the Raspberry Sauce:

  • Next, prepare the raspberry sauce. Place the berries and sugar into a medium saucepan and using a potato masher, crush the berries into a pulp. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, pour the raspberry sauce into a fine mesh strainer arranged over a large bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press the sauce the sauce through the strainer until just the seeds remain, discarding the seeds. Watch my video recipe to see how it’s done.

Making the Meringue:

  • For the meringue, place the egg whites into a very clean mixer bowl (wash with degreasing kitchen soap first!) and whisk on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, just until soft peaks form. In a small saucepan, add the sugar and water but do not stir! Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan and cook the sugar syrup over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until the syrup reaches 240F/115C. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly pour in the hot syrup, avoiding the whisk; do this immediately after the sugar syrup reaches 240F. Add in the lemon juice and vanilla and continue whisking on high speed for 6 to 8 minutes, until stiff and glossy peaks form; the meringue will begin to cool as it’s mixed. Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag tipped with a star tip; I used Ateco French star tip size #8.

Assembling the Tarts:

  • To assemble the tartlets, fill them almost to the top with the lemon curd, then top with a bit of raspberry sauce. I recommend transfering the curd and sauce into a pastry bag or ziplock bag and piping into the tart shells. Next, top with a dollop of meringue. For garnishing, I like to use a kitchen torch and torch the meringue. You can also drizzle the meringue with more raspberry sauce. Tartlets can be kept at room temperature for 24 hours, then refrigerate.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 246IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg