In a bowl or on the table, mix the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Add the cold butter, finely chopped or grated, to the dry ingredients. Mix until you obtain a homogeneous composition. Add the milk and knead the dough. Place the cooked dough in a bag and leave it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

In a saucepan or thick-bottomed pot, mix the sugar, starch, and lemon zest with the egg yolks. Add the water and lemon juice to the mixture, mix well, and place over medium heat. Boil until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add the butter, and mix. Cover the prepared cream with foil and set aside.

Beat the egg whites with sugar and citric acid. Start beating at low speed until air bubbles form, then beat at maximum speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a pastry bag or thick cellophane bag.

Assembly: remove the dough from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll out the dough. Form the base and edges in the baking pan. Cover the dough base with parchment paper and fill with beans, peas, or other weights. Bake the dough base for 15 minutes.

Remove the base from the oven and remove the beans and parchment. Fill the base with lemon cream and smooth it out. Cut a corner of the piping bag with meringue and form small balls over the entire surface of the cream. Or you can simply fill the entire surface with meringue in the desired shape.

Important! The meringue must touch the edges of the base.