The wintertime can really grate on you, when you haven’t seen the sun in weeks and the gray days are wearing on you.
During the grayest days sometimes, I just need a bright citrusy dessert with some fresh orange or grapefruit juice to pick me up!
I don’t know if it is the vitamin C or the bright refreshing taste of citrus juice, but it really does wonders in the middle of the cold winter days!
Jump to:
Why you will love this winter citrus meringue tart
This recipe for winter citrus tart with meringue only has a few ingredients and can be whipped together pretty quickly.
You will love the sweet and sour aspect to this meringue tart with fresh citrus juices!
Tips
Since we are not pre-cooking the citrus curd on the stovetop, like some recipes do, we will be adding the meringue partway through the baking time of the tart so that the tart is slightly set before adding it.
If we add the meringue before the tart is baked, it will sink to the bottom and ruin our lovely tart.
Ingredients
Oranges and grapefruits are some of those fruits that my body craves during the winter season. I usually don’t think about either of these fruits during the summer, but for some reason around the holidays, all I want for a snack, or a little pick-me-up is a fresh orange or a juicy red grapefruit.
I don’t know about you, but grapefruits are one of my favorite fruits. In our family, we usually cut them in half and eat out the sections with a sprinkle of sugar and grapefruit spoon (yes those exist). My kids can’t get enough of the grapefruit juice. They usually bring an empty cup to the table and squeeze the living daylights out of their grapefruit until there is not even a hint of pulp inside.
It seems as if God designed our bodies to crave the nutrients we need. Every winter I begin to crave citrus, and I think it’s because it’s cold and flu season and our body needs a boost of vitamin C. What better way to get vitamin C than with an orange or grapefruit?
For this recipe, I like to use blood oranges. They are sweet and juicy, but the pulp of them is as it is named: a deep reddish pulp and juice. Most blood oranges look almost the same as other oranges on the outside… they might have a little more of a blush tint. But when you cut into a blood orange the deep red color is strikingly different than other navel oranges.
Different kinds of grapefruit can also vary in color. I usually prefer to buy Texas Ruby Red grapefruits. I think that they taste better (could just be mental), ant they have a deeper color inside also.
One thing I do for this recipe to save on time and make it easier… I buy a pre-made shortbread crust at the store. You can make your own if you want, but I think it’s a whole lot easier just buying one at the store.
Shortbread crusts can be found in the baking isle right next to the graham cracker crusts. If you can’t find shortbread crust, graham cracker crusts also taste amazing in this citrus tart recipe!
These are the ingredients for winter citrus meringue tart recipe:
- Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
- Fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- Orange zest
- Store-bought shortbread crust (right next to the graham cracker crusts)
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Eggs (whites and yolks separated)
- Granulated sugar
How to make homemade winter citrus meringue tart
I think you are going to be surprised that this is a very easy citrus meringue tart recipe with minimal ingredients. The main thing is you just need to have a little patience, and an electric mixer for the meringue.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Take your fresh grapefruit, lemon and blood orange and juice them. A simple citrus juicer should work fine, and if you don’t have one, just cut them in half and squeeze them by hand through a strainer so you don’t accidentally add the seeds.
Depending on how juicy your citrus is, you may only have to use half of each piece of fruit. All you need is ¼ cup of the blood orange juice and ¼ cup of the grapefruit juice.
Put the juices into a medium size mixing bowl and add the can of sweetened condensed milk.
Now on to separating the eggs.
Separating eggs is quite simple once you get the hang of it. We will be using the egg yolk (the yellow part of the egg) in the tart with the juices, and we will be using the white part of the egg for the meringue.
In order to separate the eggs, have 2 small bowls in front of you. Crack the first egg and carefully open it so that you have 2 separate halves.
All the inside of the egg will be in one half. Carefully transfer the egg back in forth in the eggshells and let the egg white separate and fall out into the bowl. After transferring a few times from shell to shell, you should be left with the egg white in the bowl below and the egg yolk in the eggshell.
When they are separated completely, dump the egg yolk into the other bowl. Easy peasy! Continue the process with the remaining eggs.
Add the egg yolks into the mixing bowl with the citrus juices and sweetened condensed milk. With a handheld electric mixer, mix it all together for about a minute until it is all combined and smooth.
Pour the tart batter into the ready shortbread crust. Place the citrus tart into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until it is just starting to set before putting the meringue on top.
While the tart is in the oven we will make the meringue topping. For the meringue, you will want to use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. You could use a handheld electric mixer, but your arm might get tired.
Add the egg whites to the bowl of the mixer and turn it onto medium-high speed. Let the eggs whip and become foamy and frothy for about 2 minutes until soft peaks begin to form.
As soon as soft peaks begin to form, SLOWLY add the sugar over about 6 minutes while it is still whisking. You will want to add just a few tablespoons of sugar at a time.
After it has whipped for about 5 minutes, scrape down the sides with a spatula just to make sure everything is incorporated, then turn the mixer back on medium-high for another minute or two.
By the time it is done, the meringue should be very shiny and glossy and have formed stiff peaks.
After the tart has baked for about 20-25 minutes, remove it from the oven and add the prepared meringue topping to the top of the citrus tart.
Spread it all the way to the edge of the tart then take the back of the spatula and dab it on the top of the meringue to form little decorative peaks.
Place the meringue tart back in the oven for 5-8 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the broil function on the upper element and let it broil for about 1 minute until the meringue peaks toast up and get brown.
Watch it the whole time you have the broiler on! You don’t want to burn it!
Pull the tart out of the oven and let it cool, then refrigerate it for about 2-3 hours before serving. It is best served the same day you make it.
Variations
You can easily kick up the recipe for the meringue on top by adding some sort of extract like orange water or rose water. Only a teaspoon of it would do it. You can also check out my recipe for rose meringues 🡨here.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
FAQ’s
Is it normal for meringue pie to weep?
Yes. The quicker you serve your meringue pie, the less it will weep. The longer the pie sits, the more likely the meringue will weep.
You can’t stop it from weeping, it is what it naturally does, so the best thing to do is to serve your pie that same day you make it.
Adding cream of tartar to the meringue may help, but only to a limited extent.
📖 Recipe
Winter Citrus Meringue Tart
Equipment
- Stand mixer with whisk attachment
Ingredients
- 1 shortbread crust store-bought 9 inch
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- 1-2 tablespoons orange zest
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed red grapefruit juice
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1-14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Zest the orange then squeeze the juice out of a blood orange and a red grapefruit and measure out ¼ cup of juice from each. Strain out the seeds and put the juice into a medium size mixing bowl along with the fresh squeezed lemon juice.
- Add one can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Put 2 small bowls on the work surface and separate the eggs. Begin by cracking the egg in half and transferring the egg from shell to shell and letting the egg white fall into one of the bowls. It should only take a few times transferring the egg from shell to shell to effectively separate the yolk from the white. Put the egg yolk into the other bowl. Continue separating the rest of the eggs.
- Put the egg yolks into the bowl with the citrus juice and sweetened condensed milk.
- Mix it on medium speed with an electric mixer for one minute until it is combined and smooth. The mixture will be runny.
- Pour it into the prepared tart shell and bake it in the oven for 20-25 minutes until it just begins to set before adding the meringue topping.
- While the tart is in the oven, make the meringue.
- Put the egg white into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and with the whisk attachment whisk it on medium-high speed for about 2-3 minutes, until soft peaks form and it becomes very frothy.
- While the mixer is still going, SLOWLY begin to add the granulated sugar, only about 1-2 tablespoons at a time, over about a 6-minute span.
- After 6 minutes, scrape down the sides to make sure all of the sugar is incorporated and mix it again for another minute or so.
- The meringue topping should be shiny and glossy and stiff peaks should easily form and stay formed.
- After the tart has baked for about 20-25 minutes and it is just beginning to set, remove it from the oven and add the meringue topping, spreading it all the way to the edges.
- With the back of a spatula, dab the top of the meringue to make small, decorative peaks.
- Place the tart back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes.
- After 5 minutes turn the broil function on on the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, watching it constantly so as not to burn it!
- As soon as the tops of the meringue peaks are browned, remove it from the oven.
- Let it cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge for 2 hours before serving. * Enjoy!
Comments
No Comments