Lemon Meringue Pie

Dr Doolittle has been ‘collecting’ lemons! There must be over a dozen sitting in the fruit bowl this morning, he says he’s going to be preserving them…. I was very tempted to remake the recipe I’m sharing with you today, just to take some more photographs- but I thought better of it!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and although I’m not American, I love the idea of giving thanks. I also love the idea of a gathering of people celebrating life with food. I must admit when I think of American desserts, I think of pies; pumpkin pie, apple pie, mississippi mud pie and the one I’m bring to Fiesta Friday, lemon meringue pie.

The base of the pie is ‘pate sucree’, a sweet pastry.

Ingredients:
110g plain flour
Pinch of salt
55g softened unsalted butter, diced
2 egg yolks
55g caster sugar
1 drop fesh vanilla

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the butter into the centre and work into the flour until it forms breadcrumbs and add in the sugar. Add the egg bit by bit and stir in the vanilla. Work the mixture until the pastry comes together. Pop the pastry into the fridge until ready to use.

Lemon Curd:
50g butter
110g caster sugar
100ml lemon juice and zest of 3 lemons
5 egg yolks

Meringue
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
225g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a 20cm flan tin.

Roll out the pate sucree and use to line the tin. Prick the base well with a fork, then cover with parchment paper and place baking beans on top. ‘Blind bake’ in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove paper and beans and pop back in for a further 5 minutes.

To make the curd, melt the butter in a heavy based pan on a low heat. Add in the lemon juice and zest and blend well. On a low heat, slowly add the eggs and sugar and stir until a custard is formed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, this will thicken as it cools. Spoon into the flan case and spread out.

Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl for a minute, then add the sugar and salt bit by bit. Place the meringue onto top of the pie and place in an oven at 160 degrees for 15-20 minutes.