Tuesday 9 February 2016

Lemon Meringue Pie

This was all the fault of the The Chocolate Cafe in Henley...we stopped there after a ride in the Chilterns on Sunday, and I had a delicious Key Lime Meringue Pie. As it's pastry month, I decided that a sweetcrust pastry tart was called for.

Most recipes for Lemon Meringue use a biscuit base, however I swapped that out for a sweetcrust pastry. Other than that it was fairly simple, using a tin of condensed milk for the base of the lemon filling, and a simple baked meringue on top. I'm using Lakelands new style flan tins, and not sure I like them...the handles are useful for getting stuff in and out of the oven, but it makes trimming the pastry very hard (you can't do the old trick of using a rolling pin over the top and using the edge to cut the pastry for starters, and it's not easy to get a knife in and trim either...hence the slightly funny looking top of the crust). I did the clingfilm blind-baking again, still very happy with it!

Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Sweetcrust Pastry Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • 40g icing sugar
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt
  • 30-50ml iced water

1) Put the egg, half the water and the lemon juice in a jug and beat lightly

2) Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl

3) Rub the butter into the flour until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency

4) Add the egg mixture in with one hand, while mixing with the other to form a dough

5) Knead gently until the mixture is just smooth, and not cracking. You may need to add some more water, but be careful

6) Once the dough is formed flatten into a thick disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes

Filling Ingredients

  • 400ml Condensed Milk (1 tin normally)
  • 3 lemons (zest and juice)
  • 3 eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
  • ½tsp cream of tartar
  • 175g caster sugar

1) Pour the condensed milk into a mixing bowl, and add the yolks, zest and juice

2) Beat together to form a smooth mixture

3) Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk

4) Once the mixture begins to become solid (but not dry) start adding the sugar slowly, conntinuing to whisk

5) The meringue is done once the mixture has achieved soft, creamy peaks

Assembly

  • Pre-heat the oven to 190'C

1) Take the pastry and roll out large enough to cover the base and sides of a 23cm flan tin (about 3mm thick)

2) Line the flan tin, allowing a small amount of pastry to overhang

3) Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, to allow air bubbles to escape

4) Line the pastry with clingfilm, and add in baking balls/dry rice to weigh it down

4) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes

5) Remove from the oven, take out the clingfilm and baking balls, then return to bake for another 5 minutes to dry out the base

6) Remove from the oven, and turn the temperature down to 170'C

7) Pour in the lemon and egg mixture into the pastry case

8) Spoon the meringue over the top, swirling it gently

9) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the meringue has turned light brown

10) Remove to a wire rack, and trim the excess pastry with a sharp knife

11) Remove from the tin and cool.