These lovely tarts will keep you going until 100 and beyond. Just like Great Aunt Tadsie.
Text And Photos By Kelsey Hilts
My great Aunt turned 100 a few months ago. She and her mother (my great-grandmother Nana) used to make these tarts every Easter for a church fundraiser, selling them for a nickel a piece. This Easter I decided that it was time to continue the tradition and make my family’s pineapple meringue tarts in honor of Great Aunt Tadsie.
I discovered that the recipe is a keeper. Similar to lemon meringue pie, there is something light and refreshing about these tarts. And the bright yellow color and sunny pineapple flavor make them a perfect spring treat.
The original recipe calls for shortening but because I always prefer to use butter I tried making the crust both ways. They were both good so I’ve listed both and I’ll let you decide whether to use butter, shortening or a combination of the two.
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Pineapple Meringue Tarts
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
Similar to lemon meringue pie, there is something light and refreshing about these pineapple meringue tarts. And the bright yellow color and sunny pineapple flavor make them a perfect spring treat.
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 2 cups (198,7g) flour
- 1 tsp (5g) salt
- 2/3 cup (153g) cold butter or shortening
- 1/4 cup (59,15mL) cold water
Pineapple filling
- 2 cups (454g) grated or crushed canned pineapple
- 1 cup (191,6g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (49,68g) flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 egg yolks
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp (1,25g) salt
- 1/2 cup (95,8g) sugar
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Sift the flour and salt together.
- Cut the cold butter into cubes.
- Using a pastry blender, cut the butter and cold water into the flour and salt, mixing them until crumbly. (There should still be little chunks of butter.)
- Roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface until it is about 1/4-inch (0.6cm) thick and cut the dough into roughly 4-inch (10cm) circles (big enough to fill a standard muffin tin).
- Gently press the circles into muffin tins and bake them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden. Do not worry about pressing the dough into the bottom of the tins but simply shaping them into cups.
- Remove them from the oven and let them cool.
- Gently twist them out of the muffin tins and place them on a baking sheet.
Pineapple Filling
- Bring the crushed pineapple to a boil over low-medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Once the pineapple boils, add the flour and sugar and continue stirring the mixture until it is transparent.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, making sure to stir as you slowly pour the egg yolks into the bowl so that the eggs don’t cook.
Meringue
- Beat 4 egg whites at room temperature and 1/4 tsp (1,25g) salt on high speed until soft peaks form.
- Add 1/2 cup (95,8g) sugar (2 Tbsp (24g) at a time), beating after each addition until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you rub some meringue between two fingers it should be smooth. If it is gritty, continue beating it.
- Once all of the sugar is dissolved, continue beating the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Assembling the Tarts
- Spoon roughly 2 Tbsp (2 spoonfuls) of pineapple filling into each cooled tart shell.
- Spoon a dollop of meringue on top of the filling and gently spread it around to cover the tart, sealing it to the edges of the crust.
- Using the back of the spoon, swirl the meringue into small peaks.
- Bake the tarts at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes until the meringue is golden. Watch them closely so that they don’t burn.
- Once the tarts have finished cooking, turn off the oven, crack the oven door, and leave the tarts in the oven to cool. This will help keep the meringue from separating from the pineapple filling.
- Store the pineapple meringue tarts in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
This sounds delicious.
Oh my. I just returned from Hawaii with two large pineapples in hand. I think this might be what some call fate. Can’t wait to try!
OMG, this looks delicious! I recently tried a pineapple crisp which is out of this world and now you post this?!!!! I will be in pineapple heaven very soon!
This looks beautiful! What a coincidence, I was just today reminiscing about my grandmother’s pineapple custard tarts – very similar, but without the meringue. She used an all powdered, canned, pre-packaged list of ingredients (she was not the best cook, I admit) but we devoured them anyway! I’ve always dreamed of re-creating them with proper ingredients. While I’m at it, I’ll make a few of these too!
Hi. Is the ration of water to flour for the crust correct? Is came out a bit wet, so I added more flour.
Natasha, I double-checked the ratio and it is correct (according to my Great Aunt’s recipe). It has been a while since I made this but I don’t remember the consistency being an issue. With that said, I hope that by adding a bit more flour that the crust turned out for you and that you were happy with the resulting tarts!