Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
You will need about 3 lemons for this recipe.
Serves about 8.
Pastry
70g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
130g (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour
30g (1 tablespoon plus 3 teaspoons) caster sugar
120g cold butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
Lemon Filling
56g (4 tablespoons plus 3 teaspoons) cornflour
170g (3/4 cup) sugar
180ml (2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons) fresh lemon juice
230ml (2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup) water
60g butter, cut into pieces
3 large egg yolks (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
Meringue
3 large egg whites
170g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
Begin by making the pastry. Place the self-raising and plain flours, caster sugar and butter in a food processor. Process on medium speed for about 20 seconds, until mixture resembles fine fresh breadcrumbs (there shouldn't be any large chunks of butter).
Place saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly until mixture reaches the boil (this will probably take about 7-10 minutes). Reduce heat to low and continue stirring for about 30-40 seconds, until mixture changes from cloudy to transparent and becomes thick and smooth.
Remove saucepan from heat and vigorously stir in butter and egg yolks. Continue stirring until all the butter has melted and the ingredients are well combined.Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position.
Roll out pastry between two sheets of baking paper or on a lightly floured board to fit a 23cm (9 inch) pie plate (pastry should be about 4mm thick and 29cm diameter). Lift pastry into pie plate and gently press into dish.
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for 10 minutes. Remove weights/rice and baking paper and bake for 10-15 minutes more, until the pastry is a light golden colour. Allow pastry shell to cool completely.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius, or 190 degrees Celsius fan-forced. If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the middle position.
To make meringue, place egg whites in a large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until at soft peak stage (when the beater is lifted, a peak will form and then droop over). Add the sugar gradually, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue beating until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy. To test whether the sugar has dissolved, rub a small amount of meringue between your thumb and finger. If you can still feel sugar crystals, beat the meringue for another minute then test again.
Spoon lemon filling into cooled pastry shell and spread evenly. Dollop meringue on top of the lemon filling. Spread meringue to cover filling. Form peaks in the meringue with a spoon (we press the back of a spoon against the surface of the meringue, then lift the spoon to form a peak).
Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until meringue is lightly coloured.