Raspberry Meringue Earl Grey Shortbread Tartlets

To prepare crust, sift flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix in tea leaves. Set aside.

Cream butter and powdered sugar in a bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Gather dough and form a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 12 tartlets pans or a regular-sized muffin pan.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 5-inch rounds. Line prepared pans with dough circles. Use a small kitchen knife to trim the excess and to score the tops of the tartlets. Place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before baking for 10–15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Remove from oven and let the tart shells cool a few minutes before inverting and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare raspberry curd, combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and water in a pan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place in a blender to process until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan and discard solids.

Mix egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth. Add to the raspberry mixture and cook over low heat while stirring constantly for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and salt until smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Spoon the raspberry curd into the cooled shortbread tartlet crusts, and place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

To prepare meringue, in a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar and egg whites. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy for 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until the mixture is hot to touch and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in water, and continue whipping for another 10 minutes until stiff and glossy peaks form.

Transfer meringue to a piping bag attached to a large round tip. Pipe meringue on each tartlet. Use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the frosting.

Keep the tartlets in the refrigerator. Serve the same day.