Butterscotch Meringue Tarts Recipes

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUES

Steps:

• Prepare the tray. I prefer to line it with baking parchment. The book says: rub a few drops of oil over the tray, dust with flour, tip it and knock of the excess.
• Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until stiff.
• Stir in the brown sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff again after each addition.
• Fold in chopped walnuts.
• Heap in rounds on prepared tray and bake in a very slow oven (150C/350F) for between 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove immediately from tray and allow to cool.
• Sandwich with whipped cream.

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• For crust: Put butter, flour, sugar and ground hazelnuts in processor, process until mixture resembles coarse meal; add 2-3 tblsps ice water and the egg yolk and process using on/off turns until stiff dough forms; gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes; preheat oven to 400F; roll out and pastry to fit 8 inch-diameter tart pan and press in to fit bottom and sides; place a sheet of foil over crust and fill with dry beans or pie weights; bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, carefully remove foil and beans and bake 5 minutes longer; remove and cool.
• For filling: Mix cornstarch with sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the cream thickens; remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes; whisk in butter, egg yolks and vanilla; pour cream into crust.
• For meringue: Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; add sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry, peaks form; cover cream filling with meringue, sealing to edge of pastry and make decorative peaks and swirls in meringue; sprinkle over 1 tblsp dark brown sugar and flaked almonds.
• Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes, until meringue is a nice golden colour.

INDIVIDUAL BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• For the pastry, beat the butter and icing sugar together until smooth. Push the hard-boiled egg yolk through a sieve and add this to the butter along with the raw egg yolk and vanilla. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Shape the dough into a cylinder (it will be very soft), wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
• Unwrap the chilled dough and slice it into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece into a circle that is just under 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick and line eight ungreased 4-inch (10 cm) removable bottom fluted tart shells with each piece of pastry, pressing the dough into the shell and trimming away excess dough. Chill the tart shells for 30 minutes or until firm.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Place the tart shells on a baking tray, dock the bottoms of each shell with a fork and bake them for about 18 minutes, until the edges begin to brown a little. Cool the shells before filling.
• For the pudding, first make a butter caramel by placing the water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and measure the sugar over top. Bring this to a boil over high heat without stirring and continue to boil, occasionally brushing the sides of the pot with cool water, until it turns a light amber colour (or if you like an intense caramel taste, let it go until a deeper amber). Remove the pot from the heat and carefully (watching out for steam) but quickly whisk in the butter until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. You may find the butter separates out as the caramel sits, but once cooled, it can be whisked back in and will remain blended.
• In another medium pot, whisk the brown sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in 2 cups (500 mL)of the milk, and have a bowl with the egg yolks ready, whisking the remaining ¼ cup (60 mL) of milk into them. Whisk the butter caramel into the egg yolks and set aside. Bring the pot with milk and sugar up to a full simmer on medium heat, whisking constantly (but vigorously is not necessary) until the mixture bubbles and has thickened. Slowly pour the pudding into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking the yolks, until at least half of the hot pudding has been mixed in (you can add all if you wish). Transfer the whole mixture back to the pot and continuing whisking on medium heat until bubbles just begin to break the surface. Pour the pudding through a strainer into a bowl and cover the surface of the pudding with plastic wrap. Cool for an hour and then chill completely, at least 2 hours.
• To assemble, whisk the chilled pudding a little and spoon this into the cooled tart shells. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar using electric beaters or in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment on high speed until foamy. Stir the granulated and icing sugars together and pour these into the whites while whipping and continue to whip until the whites hold a medium peak when the beaters are lifted. Dollop the meringue onto each tart and bake for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Let the tarts cool on a rack and then chill until ready to serve.
• The tarts are best enjoyed that day they are assembled, although the crust and filling can be prepared a day or two ahead.

AUNT JIMMY'S BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Make the Filling: In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately remove from the heat and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. (You'll smell a characteristic nutty caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.)
• Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve.
• Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisk in the Scotch.
• While whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top.
• Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prebaked pie shell and set aside while you make the meringue.
• Make the Meringue: In a standing mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the whites in a clean dry bowl on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whipping on medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Gradually pour in the sugar and continue whipping on high speed until stiff and glossy. Pile the meringue onto the pie and swirl to cover, spreading it to the edge. (Making sure it touches the edge.) Bake the pie until the meringue is lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Chill the pie, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE BARS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars. Beat in egg yolks, water and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with butterscotch chips and pat lightly.
• For meringue, in a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add brown sugar, beating well. Spread over chips. Sprinkle with walnuts and gently press into meringue. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

BUTTERSCOTCH TART

Steps:

• If you are using ready to roll or pre-rolled pastry:
• Line your pie dish and bake blind using greaseproof paper and baking beans.
• Once the pastry is cooked set aside to cool.
• For the filling:
• In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the milk and sugar and stir until all dissolved.
• Whisk in the flour.
• Keep stirring until it begins to thicken and then reduce the heat.
• Cook on a low heat for 1 minute.
• Pour the mixture into your pastry case and allow to cool and set. This takes a good while hence it would be at its best to make the night before and give it overnight to completely set.
• Serve up with some freshly whipped cream or pouring cream, whichever you'd prefer!
• Good old school classic!

BUTTERSCOTCH TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 5 five-inch rounds, and fit into 3-inch tart pans with removable bottoms. Prick bottoms with a fork. Place a second tart pan inside each dough-lined pan, and place them all on a baking sheet; bake 20 minutes. Remove top pans, and continue baking until light-golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely.
• Prepare butterscotch: In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; set aside. Pass brown sugar, flour, and salt through a medium sieve to remove any lumps. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat to melt sugar, whisking frequently. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring milk to a simmer. Whisk milk into melted sugar, and cook, whisking constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 hot sugar mixture to beaten egg yolks, and whisk to combine. Whisk egg yolks into sugar mixture, and return to heat very briefly to cook the eggs and thicken slightly, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter. Pass mixture through a fine sieve.
• Prepare meringue: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until foamy, about 1 minute. Add granulated sugar, and beat until stiff.
• Pour butterscotch into baked shells. Mound meringue on top of tarts, and bake until meringue is browned, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour, before serving.

BLOOD ORANGE BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
• In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juices, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
• As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick, fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely and top with more orange zest before serving.