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Korzinochki (Russian shortbread tarts with meringue filling)
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Korzinochki (Russian shortbread tarts with meringue filling)

Delicate shortcrust pastry and fluffy Italian meringue are combined in these Russian sweet baskets. They are a highlight not only in taste but also in appearance and were so popular in the Soviet era for a reason. These Russian shortbread tarts with meringue filling taste fluffy, light and simply heavenly delicious. You can make korzinochki yourself using this recipe.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Russian
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cooling time 15 minutes
Servings 30 pieces

Equipment

  • stainless steel tartlet baking pans or muffin tins
  • piping bag

Ingredients

for the dough

  • 200 g butter (room temperature)
  • 130 g powdered sugar
  • yolks of 3 eggs
  • approx. 350 g flour
  • 4 g baking powder
  • vanilla
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • flour for the work surface

for the Italian meringue

  • egg whites of 3 eggs (weigh, 96 g for me)
  • approx. 192 g sugar (twice as much as egg whites)
  • 64 ml water (1/3 of the amount of sugar)
  • 1/4 tsp citric acid powder

for the filling

  • firm jam

Instructions

Preparation of the dough

  • Beat soft butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt for about 4 - 5 minutes until a creamy white mass.
  • Add egg yolks and beat until homogeneous.
  • Add flour with baking powder postionally and knead it quickly and briefly to a soft dough. (Note my tips and tricks for this here at the top of the post.) Cover the dough in the mixing bowl and chill for 15 minutes.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to about 0.5 inches thick. Using one of the tartlet baking pans or a suitable drinking glass, cut out circles from the dough and fill the baking pans with them.
  • Pierce the bottom of each basket several times with a fork and bake the shortbread baskets in a preheated oven at 180 °C top and bottom heat for about 15 minutes until they have a light golden brown edge. Let them cool in the baking pans and then take them out.

Preparation of the Italian meringue

  • Weigh egg whites from 3 eggs. Now weigh out twice as much sugar as egg whites. Divide the amount of sugar by 3 and weigh out as much water in ml.
  • Put the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, making sure the sugar has dissolved before boiling.
  • Once the sugar syrup boils, add citric acid, stir briefly and simmer over low heat (stop stirring) until the syrup reaches 118 - 120 °C.
  • In parallel, start whipping egg whites with food processor at medium speed.
  • Once the sugar syrup reaches 118 - 120 °C, take it off the heat and immediately add it slowly in a thin stream to the whipped egg whites, continuing to whip the egg whites. Just before the sugar syrup reaches the necessary temperature, you can check if the egg whites already have a foamy consistency. If it is not, you can briefly turn the food processor on maximum speed. However, the egg whites must not be whipped into a solid mass when you add the sugar syrup. After you add the sugar syrup to the egg whites, continue to beat the mixture at maximum speed of the food processor for about 10 minutes, until the cream is firm and the mixing bowl with the cream is barely warm when you touch it from the outside.

Filling the shortbread tarts

  • Spread some jam on the bottom of each shortbread basket.
  • Put the Italian meringue in a piping bag and use it to fill the shortbread baskets, piping the meringue on top of the jam.

Notes

  • Do not knead the dough too long. When adding flour, first use a wooden spoon to stir and only at the end knead the dough briefly with your hands.
  • Do not press the dough too tightly to the baking pans, so that the pastries can be easily taken out of the pans after baking.
  • Accurately weigh all the ingredients for the Italian meringue.
  • Measure the temperature of the sugar syrup accurately. It must not be below 118 °C and must not exceed 120 °C.
  • Add the hot sugar syrup to the egg whites slowly, in a thin stream.
  • After adding the sugar syrup to the egg whites, whip the meringue really well.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for DIY shortbread tarts with meringue filling at the top of the post.