Our friends, Faye and Anna, came over for lunch the other day and we finished off with lemon meringue pie.  It was a big lunch but we didn’t have dinner that night so we didn’t feel too guilty.

With the abundance of lemons around at the moment, lemon meringue pie is perfect, if a little indulgent.

I used a recipe from taste.com.au.  You can find the original recipe here.  It’s the second time I have used this recipe this year and I may again…

At the beginning of the lemon season, I decided to make lemon meringue pie.  We were down south without all my cookbooks so I went looking for a recipe on the web.  I decided on this one and loved it.  The other day, when I needed a recipe, I returned to it, although EatYourBooks tells me that I have 5 recipes in my own books.

I like this recipe because it makes a smallish pie – there is only so much lemon meringue a woman can eat.  The tin I used is about 3.75cm deep and about 21cm wide.  With a tin this size, you get a mound of meringue but the depth of the lemon is just right – about 3cms.  You could use a slightly bigger tin but then the lemon would not be as deep and you want lots of that lovely, lemony filling.  A tin with a loose bottom is best so that you can easily remove the pie.

A pie this size will serve 8.

Ingredients:

Pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 2 tbs* icing sugar
• 125g cold butter, chopped
• iced water

*These are 20ml tablespoons

Lemon filling

• 50g cornflour
• 125ml water
• 250ml  fresh lemon juice
• 215g caster sugar
• 60g butter, coarsely chopped
• 4 egg yolks (keep the whites for the meringue)

Meringue

• 215g caster sugar
• 4 egg whites

Pastry:

1. Place the flour and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times.
2. Add the chopped butter and process until just combined.
3. While the processor is still running, drizzle in, very slowly, iced water.  Stop when the dough begins to clump together.  Do not let it form a ball.
4. Tip the dough onto your work bench and knead to form a ball (if you can’t, add a drop or two more water).
5. Wrap in Glad Wrap and refrigerate for, at least, 30 minutes.
6. Take the pastry out of the fridge.  If it is a little stiff, wait until it softens a bit.
7. Roll out pastry and line your tin.  Leave a bit of overhang because your pastry is sure to shrink when you bake it.   I had enough for this pie and an 18.5cm loose base tart tin as well.  If you make a second case, bake it and store it in the freezer, wrapped in Glad Wrap.
8. Refrigerate pastry case for at least, 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 180°C.
10. Prick your pastry base with a fork.
11. Cover the pastry with baking paper.
12. Fill the lined dish with pastry weights and bake for 15 minutes.
13. Remove the paper and pastry weights. If any of the base has risen, press it down with the back of a spoon.
14. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.

You could, of course, make your pastry by hand but I always use a food processor.  You can make and bake your pastry case a day ahead if you wish. I gave a few pastry tips in a previous post so, if you feel you need some tips, you may want to check them out.

Lemon Filling:

1. Combine the cornflour (cornstarch) with a little of the water in a saucepan to make a smooth paste.
2. Add the balance of the water, the lemon juice and sugar.
3. Whisk over medium heat or until the mixture boils and thickens.
4. Cook, stirring constantly, for a further minute. Remove from heat.
5. Whisk in the butter and egg yolks.
6. Transfer to a bowl. Cover with Glad Wrap, pushed down onto the filling (to avoid a skin forming) and place in the fridge until cooled completely.

The lemon filling can also be made a day ahead if you wish.

Meringue:

1. Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form.
2. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoonful at a time until fully incorporated and the egg white is stiff and glossy.

The Pie:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Spread the lemon filling over the base of the pastry case.
3. Spoon the meringue over the lemon filling – create peaks in the meringue.
4. Bake the pie for 5 or so minutes until the meringue peaks are slightly brown.
5. Serve cool.

The pie is best eaten the day it is baked.