Easy Vegan Lemon Tart with Meringue

There is just something about the flavour of lemon that screams spring. This vegan lemon tart recipe is a game-changer. It has a nutty and flaky crust and it’s filled with a creamy lemony custard filling. The crust compliments the filling beautifully, by not being overwhelming but still adding a subtle nutty flavour and perfect flaky texture. This vegan tart is truly divine without the meringue on top, but let’s be honest the vegan meringue just adds another level of mouthwatering goodness to it. You truly will not miss eggs in this meringue at all. This vegan lemon tart is the perfect dessert for your Easter table, as the tart is light, fresh and full of that spring energy.

Why You’ll Love This Vegan Tart

• That creamy, vegan lemon curd filling will have you begging for seconds. It’s the perfect balance between sweet and tangy.
• The crust of this vegan lemon dessert is gluten free but you wouldn’t know it because the texture is spot on. So whether you are gluten-free or not, you’ll love this crust.
• The vegan meringue is made from aquafaba and it’s so fun whip up! If you’ve never made meringue from aquafaba before, you are in for the coolest chemistry lesson ever.
• This easy vegan lemon tart is the perfect dessert to get excited about Spring with! It’s light, airy, dairy free, and made with eggless lemon curd. 

How To Make Vegan Meringue

Oh, baby. The vegan meringue that tops this vegan lemon tart is next level. I feel like that has been my go-to phrase of late, but I truly stand by it. I initially made this vegan tart with no meringue and it was amazing. Adam even stole my piece of the tart because he was obsessed. But then I thought, why not venture down the whole wannabee vegan lemon meringue pie path and see what happens.

This is obviously not a pie. But that vegan meringue on top makes this vegan Easter dessert extra fancy. Who would have thought that a fluffy and highly addicting meringue could come from a can of chickpeas?

The trick to making vegan meringue is patience. It truly is. To start with, you need a hand mixer or better yet a Kitchen Aid mixer (with the whisk attachment). You add 1/3 cup of the chickpea liquid and mix for roughly 5 minutes until it is looking frothy and white. Next, add in the cream of tartar and let that take a little spin. Then add the powdered sugar and the vanilla. That’s when the fun starts. The mixture still needs to mix for another 5-7 minutes (depending on your mixer). But after that time, the meringue should start to form stiff peaks, and that is when you know it is ready.

Once the aquafaba meringue is added to the vegan tart, you end up broiling it for a short minute to help it stiffen and brown on the top. It is so important to keep an eye on it. I would hate for you to spend this time making the tart and then to burn the meringue. So keep a super watchful eye on it.

Besides patience and a watchful eye, I think anyone can make vegan meringue, and once you do, good luck not licking the bowl.

Helpful Tips To Make The Best Vegan Lemon Tart

1. Soak the cashews beforehand. This recipe is simple to make, but it does require planning ahead a little and patiently waiting for the vegan tart to set. Soaking the cashews ensures the blender breaks them down into a nice creamy consistency along with the other filling ingredients
2. When making the vegan meringue recipe, patience is key. The aquafaba needs to be whisked until it is frothy. The timing for this may depend on whether you are using a KitchenAid mixer or hand beaters. But it needs to be quite frothy before adding the cream of tartar and the powdered sugar.
3. Let the vegan lemon tart set in the fridge for at least 4 hours before topping it with the vegan meringue. You want the tart to firm to the touch before adding the meringue and popping it under the broil setting of your oven for a quick minute.
4. The last step for this gluten free vegan lemon tart is to broil it, to brown the meringue, for less than a minute. This depends on the broil setting of your oven. So watch the meringue-like a hawk when you place it in the oven. When it starts to lightly brown, pull it out, as it will continue to brown a little more when it is removed.

Check Out These Other Recipes for Your Vegan Easter:

• Mushroom Stroganoff
• Yam Casserole
• Brussel Sprout Salad with Apple and Pecans
• Vegan Carrot Cake
• Chocolate Torte
• Vegan Pecan Pie Bars

If you are on the hunt for a knock-out vegan lemon tart, this is it. You simply need this dessert at your Easter table. The meringue is absolutely lip-smackingly good. And the vegan lemon custard filling is tangy, sweet and balances the crust and the meringue beautifully. The words: flaky, fluffy, tangy, lemony and sweet should have convinced you and if not who even are you? So just make this vegan lemon meringue pie and see for yourself. What did I tell ya? Next. Level.

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Vegan Lemon Tart

This vegan lemon tart has a creamy and custardy filling, a nutty and light crust, and it’s topped with a to die for vegan meringue.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Passive Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

base

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• sea salt

lemon filling

• 1 cup cashews (soaked overnight or in boiling hot water 30 minutes before)
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (roughly 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup lemon zest (roughly 3 lemons)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
• pinch of salt

vegan meringue

• 1/3 cup chickpea brine
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Begin by soaking your cashews, either 30 minutes before needing them in boiled water (removed from the stove) or overnight in room temperature water.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9″ tart pan with coconut oil. I used a tart pan where the bottom is removable, which makes the process of removing the tart quite simple and mess-free.
• Melt the coconut oil and set aside. If you are making your own oat flour, add 1/2 cup of oats to a food processor and blend until a fine flour texture has formed. Add the almond flour and oat flour together in a bowl. Then add the coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. Stir to combine. I found using the kitchen aid mixer helped to combine. Stirring by hand works it just takes a little longer. You want the base ingredients to be completely combined so that it is crumbly in texture yet sticks together when pressed into the tart pan.
• Add the base mixture to the tart pan and begin by pressing it up the sides of the pan and then at the base. Press down firmly with your fingers so that the base stays intact. Bake for 10 minutes in the oven. Then set aside to cool for ten minutes.

Filling

• Drain the water from the cashews. Add the cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, arrowroot powder and salt to a highspeed blender. Blend until smooth. It should be very smooth.
• After the base of the tart has cooled for ten minutes, add the filling to the base. Tap the tart on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Place in the oven at 350ºF for 15 minutes.
• Let the tart cool after 15 minutes for half an hour and then place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to set.

Vegan Meringue

• When you are ready to serve the vegan tart, give yourself about 30 minutes to prepare the meringue.
• You will need a kitchen aid mixer or a handheld mixer to create the meringue. Add the chickpea brine to your mixer and blend on med-high/high for 5-7 minutes, until it is starting to look white and frothy. Add in the cream of tartar, let it mix for 1 minute. Then add in the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and the vanilla. Once the sugar is added the meringue should start to peak within 5 minutes. You will know your meringue is ready when stiff peaks form (like regular meringue).
• Vegan meringue can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to mix, so be patient.
• Once you are satisfied with your meringue. Remove your tart from the fridge. And turn your oven to its broil setting.
• Using a wooden spoon, nicely cover the top of the tart with the meringue, making little peaks in the meringue as you go.
• Place the tart in the oven on the broil setting. Your tart DOES NOT NEED long in the oven. Keep a VERY close eye on the tart as the meringue can brown very fast. Mine was in the oven for about 1 minute. You are simply firming up the meringue and making it golden on top.
• Remove the tart from the oven and serve immediately. Remove the tart from the pan and cut into even pieces. Best when fresh. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Notes

I found once the meringue is added the tart lasts a few hours on the counter but preferably in the fridge. If you aren’t eating the whole tart, I would suggest adding the meringue to half the tart or individual pieces. The meringue is amazing on this tart but doesn’t last well overnight in the fridge, so best eaten within a few hours of the meringue being place on top of the tart.

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