Ingredients
- 200g plain flour
- 90g icing sugar
- 220g unsalted butter, cold diced
- 2 Tbsp iced water
- 75g cornflour
- 600g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- zest and juice of 7 lemons
Lemon meringue pie
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the plain flour, icing sugar and 120g butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a coarse crumb forms. Add the water and pulse several times until a dough forms. Roll between two sheets of non-stick paper to form a flat disc, then chill until firm.
Roll out the pastry to 4mm thick and line into a greased 30cm pie tin, then line with aluminium foil and baking weights. Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly golden, then set aside to cool.
Combine the cornflour, 280g caster sugar, eggs, yolks, zest and juice in a small saucepan and set over a low heat. Cook, whisking often, for 20 minutes, until the mixture boils and thickens. Pour into a container, then cover and chill.
Spoon the lemon mixture into the pastry case. Cook the remaining caster sugar with ½ cup water in a saucepan over a medium heat until it reaches hard ball (119°C). When the syrup reaches 110°C start whisking the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer to soft peaks. Add the syrup in a steady stream and whisk until cold. Pipe onto the lemon mixture, then lightly scorch with a kitchen blowtorch.
Submitted byFast Ed
Tips and Tricks
While many fridges provide storage in the fridge door, this is in fact the warmest part of your fridge, as opening and closing alters the temperature. Eggs last longest when they’re in a stable cool environment, so best kept in the middle of your fridge.
We recommend purchasing free-range and organic eggs where possible to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare.
If you haven’t got time to use up lemons in the kitchen, they also make for a great cleaning supplement in the rest of your house. Rubbing lemons onto aluminium will help brighten surfaces, while mixing 2 tablespoons of lemon with 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 litre of water makes for a natural window cleaner.
