Sister, Citrus, Continents Lemon Meringue Tart: A French Recipe That Traveled Through Australia to Land in Sài Gòn

I’ve been on a baking streak lately. Not the slow descent into sourdough that every pandemic-era millennial went through – more like a deliberate campaign to make my boyfriend and my colleagues at work incrementally, measurably happier through butter and sugar. Nussecken, pumpkin bread, Black Forest cake, Christmas cookies with chili – the usual suspects from the German playbook, adapted to a kitchen where the ambient temperature does half the proofing for you.

But I wanted something new (at least for me). Something I’d never tried before. And since I knew my sister – who’s currently stationed in Australia, was stationed in France a decade ago, and is permanently stationed in having strong opinions about pastry – had been on her own baking journey, I reached out and asked her to send me a random recipe for something outside my comfort zone.

She sent me a tarte au citron meringuée. A French lemon tart with meringue, learned during her time in France, refined in her Scottish, German, and Australian kitchen, and now – after she flew to Sài Gòn in December 2025 to demonstrate it in person – living its best tropical life in mine.

There’s something quietly absurd about two German siblings reuniting in a Vietnamese kitchen over a French dessert recipe transmitted via Australia. If you drew the supply chain of this tart on a map, it would look like a flight path designed by a drunk travel agent. But that’s how food works when your family is scattered across hemispheres – recipes become the thing you share when you can’t share a timezone.

She made it right here, in my kitchen, walking me through every step like a pastry instructor who also happens to roast you for your knife skills. I’ve since made it multiple times on my own, dialed in the details, and I can confirm: it slaps. Every single time. The curd is bright and tangy, the meringue adds just enough sweetness to balance it, and the shortcrust base holds everything together like a dependable friend who doesn’t need to be the center of attention.

The Recipe

Shortcrust Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 100 g sugar
• 150 g butter, room temperature

Lemon Curd Ingredients

• 2 whole eggs + 2 additional egg yolks
• 3 organic untreated lemons (or 5-6 limes)
• 125 g sugar
• 200 g unsweetened yogurt

Meringue Ingredients

• 2 egg whites (reserved from the curd step)
• 60 g powdered sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Make the shortcrust.
   Knead the egg, flour, sugar, and butter into a smooth dough. Press into a greased and/or parchment-lined springform pan (⌀ 24 to 26 cm), pushing the dough up the sides to form edges.
2. Pre-bake the crust.
   Bake at 180°C until it just starts to turn golden – about 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door. The crust doesn’t need to be fully baked through yet; it’s going back in.
3. Separate the eggs for the curd.
   In a bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs with the 2 additional yolks. Set the 2 egg whites aside for the meringue. Be obsessive here: not a single drop of yolk in those whites, or the meringue will refuse to cooperate out of pure spite. This isn’t a suggestion – it’s physics.
4. Mix the lemon curd.
   Stir the yogurt and sugar into the egg mixture. Finely zest all three lemons (or 5-6 limes), then juice them. Add both zest and juice to the bowl and mix until smooth.
5. Bake the curd.
   Pour the liquid curd onto the pre-baked shortcrust. Bake at 180°C for 30 to 45 minutes until it reaches a pudding-like consistency and is lightly browned on top. The exact time will depend on your oven’s unique characteristics.
6. Make the meringue.
   Shortly before the curd is done, take the reserved 2 egg whites and beat them with a pinch of salt using an electric mixer until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the powdered sugar while continuing to beat until you get a stiff, glossy, sticky meringue.
    
   For the brave – do the meringue test. Hold the bowl over your head and flip it upside down. If everything stays unimpressed in the bowl, your meringue is done. I’ve done this. Over tile floors. Successfully. Do with that information what you will.
7. Top and finish.
   Spread the meringue evenly over the now-firm, lightly browned lemon curd. Return to the oven at 180°C for 5 to 10 minutes until the meringue turns golden.
8. Cool and store.
   Let the tart cool completely before slicing. Store in the refrigerator. It’s arguably even better the next day, once the curd has fully set and the flavors have had time to get to know each other.

Final Notes

This is the kind of recipe that looks impressive on a plate but is genuinely not difficult. A shortcrust base you knead together in five minutes, a lemon curd that’s basically stirring things in a bowl, and a meringue that requires nothing but patience and a mixer. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool.

My sister brought this recipe from France to Australia to Sài Gòn. And I’m putting it on the web so it can keep traveling (and I can easily find it again). Make it for someone. Preferably someone who’ll tell you it’s the best thing they’ve ever eaten, even if they’re exaggerating. That’s the whole point.