Chocolate Lime Coconut Meringue Tart
Chocolate Lime Coconut Meringue Tart made up of an easy homemade crisp chocolate coconut crust, an amped up lime filling and a super whipped coconut infused meringue.
Equipment
- Tart shell with removable bottom--I used a 7 inch deep dish pan.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Crust
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut rum (like Malibu) or rum extract
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup shredded coconut (pulsed in food processor)
For Crust
- 22-26 chocolate cookies
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Lime Filling adapted from Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie
- 3 egg yolks
- 4 limes, zest
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- ¾ cup lime juice
Coconut Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut rum (like Malibu)
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cookie Crust
- Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a mixer, beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla extract on higher speed until light and creamy.
- Beat in the egg white. Lower the speed and slowly add in the flour mixture spoon by spoon until fully incorporated.
- By hand, add in the coconut and mix in.
- Take the dough and form a log shape about 8-10 inches long (these cookies are solely for the tart crust, so don't worry too much about how they look. I didn't.) Wrap tightly in wax or parchment paper and twist the two ends. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, at least two hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, slice thin rounds from the log of dough, less than 1/2 an inch, and place an inch apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the cookie tops are slightly cracked.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 30-32 cookies. I made them large because, well, tart.
- You can freeze the cookies in a ziplock bag until ready to make the tart if preferred. When making the tart, add 24-26 cookies to a food processor. Pulse until they are pulverized into an even crumb. Add the butter and sugar and pulse until the crumb looks evenly coated.
- Preheat oven or keep oven on 350 degrees.
- When ready, pack the chocolate crumbs into a greased tart shell with removable bottom. Mine is deep dish so I used most of the crumb mix, but adjust to the size and depth of your tart shell. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the shell, pressing the bottom corners so the mix reaches all the way up to the tops of the sides (you can pack down the extra that rises tightly too.)
- Bake the tart shell for 8-10 minutes, until it appears to "set." Set aside to cool on wire rack while you prepare the lime filling.
For the Lime Filling
- In a mixer, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at a medium/high speed for 3-5 minutes, until they are one light and creamy ingredient.
- Slowly add the condensed milk and continue to beat for an additional few minutes.
- Lower the speed and add lime juice, only mixing in for 10 seconds or so.
- Pour the lime filling into the tart shell and bake for 10 minutes, until the top can lightly be touched and yet there is a slight jiggle to the center portion.
- Let sit on a wire rack until completely cooled. Use a container or object at least a foot tall on which to place the tart pan, so that the sides loosen. After a time, loosen and carefully giggle the sides yourself (I even resorted to loosening a few tight bits of crust with a thin blade). Soon, all sides will loosen and you can gently let the side of the tart pan come away from the crust (fingers crossed!).
- You can leave the tart on the removable bottom and store in refrigerator until it's meringue time.
For the Coconut Meringue
- In a mixer, and using room temperature eggs, whisk the egg whites, along with the vanilla extract, rum, and cream of tartar until they move from a translucent foam to a thicker foam to an opaque white mixture of soft peaks with slightly foamy sides. This may take a minute or two, or longer.
- Very slowly add in the sugar, allowing at least 30 seconds in between each spoonful. Once the sugar is in and the meringue is glossy, allow it to mix for a minute or two longer, making sure to test the stiffness of its peaks. Don't take it out prematurely. I let it go, and don't regret it.
- Carefully spoon the meringue over the cold lime chocolate tart. Try not to let it hit the crust (unless, like me, you need to cover up a crust boo boo when removing the tart pan!). Then, the fun part. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula (or a knife) and form the meringue into peaks or whatever shapes you like. I prefer this method to piping, but if you prefer that, do it!
- I happen to have a little baking torch and was raring to use it. If using, torch the tops for a little texture of color and add additional coconut flakes and/or lime zest.
- Before eating, it's a good idea to freeze the tart for 10-15 minutes or so, but it can happily live in the freezer for a week.
