Pear and lime meringue pie

For 1 tart, you will need:

• 0 300 g Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
• 1 30 g cornflour
• 2 30 g caster sugar
• 3 1 lime
• 4 3 drops food colouring (optional)
• 5 300 g Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
• 6 200 g Italian Meringue
• 7 5 Pears
• 8 30 g Clarified butter
• 9 1 lemon
• Total weight: 2,030 grams

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How long does it take?

Step by step recipe

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Stage 1 - 30 min.

Make lime crème pâtissière (confectioner's custard) as for 300 g Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream), but with these special proportions: 30 g caster sugar and 30 g cornflour, and infuse milk with finely chopped zest of 1 lime before boiling.

Then, when cream is cooked, beat into it juice of 1 lime, and if desired 3 drops food colouring (green).

Leave to cool covered to prevent skin forming, or whip during cooling from time to time.

Set aside your lime crème pâtissière.

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Stage 2 - 40 min.

Bake blind the sweetcrust pastry.

Set aside.

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Stage 3 - 20 min.

Peel 5 Pears, cut in four, discard core and sprinkle with juice of 1 lemon .

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Stage 4 - 3 min.

Melt 30 g Clarified butter in a frying pan, then tip in pear quarters (and lemon juice).

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Stage 5 - 20 min.

On high heat, cook until they begin to brown.

Note: Clarified butter is preferable, to avoid the little black bits visible in this photograph, due to overheating ordinary butter.

Set pears aside.

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Stage 6 - 20 min.

Prepare 200 g Italian Meringue.

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Stage 7 - 2 min.

Lighten the cream by folding 2 large spoonfuls of meringue into cold lime crème pâtissière,.

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Stage 8 - 5 min.

Continue gently, by tilting the pan, until you have a light cream.

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Stage 9 - 3 min.

Put a layer of this cream in the cooked pastry case.

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Stage 10 - 5 min.

Arrange pears quarters on cream.

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Stage 11 - 5 min.

Spread the rest of Italian meringue on top of the tart.

You can use a forcing bag as in the photograph, or a spatula and then draw patterns with a fork on the surface.

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Stage 12

For best results, meringue should cover the whole surface of the tart.

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Stage 13 - 3 min.

To finish, brown the meringue gently with a blow lamp, or by putting under the grill for just a few seconds.

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Stage 14

It's ready, refrigerate until serving.

Remarks

Nutritional information

How much will it cost?

• For 1 tart : 5.54 €

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Post your comment or question

Your 2 comments or questions on this recipe

• Hi,
  
  I don't know exactly how to make filling with sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks, but I'm quite sure that it will not be easier or smoother, than a good old tasty French pastry cream mixed with Italian meringue.
  I guess the restaurant you try, do it in that way too...
  
  Posted by jh february 17^th 2012 at 18:01 (n° 2)
• Hi, this recipe sounds great! Ive seen similar recipes that instead use for the filling: sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, egg yolks. Would this be an easier way of making the filling? Also is it a smooth limey filling with a tart flavour?? Im trying to recreate a pear and lime tart I ate from a restaurant recently! Thanks :)
  Posted by Helena_kitty february 16^th 2012 at 13:08 (n° 1)