PASTRY
85g Tararua Butter, softened
1/2 cup Chelsea Caster Sugar (115g)
1 egg
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 cup Edmonds Standard Grade Flour (150g)
3/4 cup Edmonds Fielder's Cornflour (115g)
1 tsp Edmonds Baking Powder

FILLING
1/4 cup Edmonds Fielder's Cornflour (38g)
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice (125ml)
4 egg yolks
1 cup Chelsea Caster Sugar (225g)
1 cup water (250ml)
1 Tbsp Tararua Butter

SWISS MERINGUE TOPPING
2/3 cup Chelsea Caster Sugar (150g)
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract

PASTRY
Cream Tararua Butter and Chelsea Caster Sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon zest. Sift Edmonds Standard Grade Flour, Edmonds Fielder's Cornflour and Edmonds Baking Powder into the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Shape into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for 30-60 minutes.

Spray two 12-hole muffin tins with cooking oil spray or lightly grease with butter. Roll pastry out onto a lightly floured surface to about 2mm thick. Use a cookie cutter (roughly 7.5cm diameter) to cut out 24 rounds and gently press into the tins (choose a cookie cutter with a serrated edge for a prettier pattern). Refrigerate while you make the filling.

FILLING
Preheat oven to 180°C fan bake. Combine Edmonds Fielder's Cornflour, lemon zest and juice in a medium saucepan. Mix until smooth. Add egg yolks, Chelsea Caster Sugar, water and Tararua Butter. Cook gently, stirring, until mixture thickens like custard (about 10 minutes). 

Divide filling evenly between prepared pastry cases. Bake for 15 minutes, until pastry is golden around the edges. Leave to cool in tins for a few minutes, then gently ease out of tins with a thin knife and place on a cooling rack.

SWISS MERINGUE TOPPING
Bring a saucepan with a few centimetres of water to a gentle simmer. Set a metal or glass mixing bowl over the top of the saucepan to create a double boiler, ensuring the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Add sugar and egg whites to mixing bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved (about 4 minutes). 

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Use an electric or stand mixer to whisk until stiff peaks form (5-7 minutes). Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large open star piping tip. Pipe meringue topping onto cooled tarts. Brown the edges of the meringue with a blow torch or place under the grill to lightly brown (watch carefully).

Serve with whipped or thickened cream.

These mini lemon meringue tarts are best consumed within 2 days of making.

They also work well as bite-sized tarts using mini muffin pans (reduce cooking time to 10-12 minutes).

Have some leftover pastry? Fill with jam to make mini jam tarts.