A lemon meringue pie is a timeless dish that takes me back to my childhood. But I have tasted a few lemon meringue pies in my time that would certainly have turned me off this classic, where the base was soggy, the lemon filling jelly-like and overset, and the meringue so sweet it was jaw clenching.
A good lemon meringue pie should have a crisp pastry base and a smooth, sharp lemon filling, with a little give when you cut into it. The meringue should be soft and fluffy and not too sweet, it should balance the tart lemon custard harmoniously.
This recipe is straightforward and while there are a few steps, it is worth it. The star of the show here is the lemon filling and this dessert really lets that bright, sunny lemon flavour shine.
The key to a crisp pastry with no soggy bottoms is baking it blind. The pastry is rolled out and topped with parchment paper, before being filled with something heavy to weigh it down. Baking beans or uncooked rice will work. This helps keep a perfect shape and prevents the pastry getting soft when your filling is added.
Once baked, a warm sharp lemon custard is poured into the pastry shell to set. This is a no-bake custard, made on the stove. So there is no watching the oven or wondering if you have a perfect wobble. I use cornflour in the lemon custard to ensure a perfect set and finishing it with butter means it is somewhere between a traditional curd and a pastry cream, beautifully silky and the perfect tart filling.
Once the filling is completely cool, a fluffy, soft Swiss meringue is piled on top and torched with a blowtorch, or popped under the grill, to give a lovely toasty char. This type of meringue is cooked in a bain-marie, a bowl over a pan of simmering water and is less sweet than other types of meringues.
The tart base and pastry filling are best made a day in advance and the meringue will hold better if you make it the day you want to serve it. It will then keep for a day or two in the fridge.
LEMON MERINGUE PIE
Serves 12
Ingredients
For the pastry:
225g plain flour, sifted
150g unsalted butter, cubed
25g icing sugar, sifted
1 egg
Pinch salt
For the lemon filling:
450ml lemon juice (about 10-12 lemons)
Zest 3 lemons
300ml water
240g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
80g cornflour
100g unsalted butter, cubed
For the Swiss meringue:
4 egg whites
250g caster sugar
1tsp lemon juice
Method
For the pastry:
1 Rub the flour and butter together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and salt and mix well. Add the egg and slowly bring the dough together.
2 Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes to an hour.
3 Roll the dough out to a large round and line a 23cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork and place in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill completely.
4 Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line the tart with parchment paper. Fill with baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and cook for a further two to three minutes until the base is golden brown. Leave to cool.
For the lemon filling:
1 Put the lemon juice, zest, water and half of the sugar into a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes, before straining into a new pan to remove the zest. Bring to the boil.
2 Whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar and cornflour together in a bowl and slowly pour in the hot lemon juice, whisking all the time. Pour back into the pan and cook over a medium heat for three to four minutes until thickened and the cornflour starts bubbling. Remove from the heat and add the cubed butter, a little at a time, until it is all emulsified. Cool slightly.
3 Pour the custard into the cooked pastry case and leave to set at room temperature for one to two hours before transferring to the fridge to set completely.
For the Swiss meringue:
1 Put the egg whites, sugar and lemon juice into a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Using an electric beater, whisk for about five minutes until all of the sugar has dissolved and the whites are fluffy.
2 Remove from the heat and continue to whisk until cold, stiff and glossy.
3 Spread the meringue over the set custard and place under a hot grill for a few minutes to toast the meringue.
