If you are looking for a tangy sweet dessert then this Lemon Meringue Pie could be just for you
our Lemon Meringue Pie has three layers and we will start with a biscuit base
then we are going to make a homemade lemon curd, thats with lemons, cornflour, eggs and sugar
and then with finish it meringue as well
to start with we are going to work from the bottom up so we'll do our biscuit base first
crack all of those into there
use what ever you find easiest, we just want a fine breadcrumb
meanwhile the butter which will help it all stick together at the end
goes into the microwave to melt
it's quite therapeutic this bit
very therapeutic
now what we are going to set this in is our cake tin,
it's non-stick with a loose bottom
because later on we'll pull the whole thing out nice and easy
and then our butter goes in, if you can stir all of that through
and make sure all of those crumbs are coated because that is what is going to hold it all together later
looking good now throw it al into there
what happens if...
you haven't got a tin with a loose bottom
it just means it is more difficult to get out at the end
you might have to take one slice out at a time
or you could do small individual ones, little ramekins
you wont be able to see the layers but when you dig you discover them
use what ever you have to hand really
and then with the back of a spoon just pack it down
aim for the thickness of your finger
then the same with lemon curd
and then the same with the meringue
now let's concentrate on our lemon curd okay, you could just buy it but we are going to show how easy it is to make one
zest in...
two lemons, lemon curd is a very sharp lemon mixture set with eggs and cornflour
curd is the process so you could make a lime curd, mango curd or a passionfruit curd
this is a
traditional lemon curd
and then
we need all the juice as well
squeeze it through your fingertips, you want all of that juice out of there This is a lot of lemon!
well you want it really sharp, think about how sweet the meringue is
you'll need that sharpness to cut through and balance it
that's why your
ratios are very important
if you can crack in both eggs
then whisk
and too it we can add our sugar
and some cold butter from the fridge
but also a little cornflour so if you can whisk that in there as well
What does corn flour do? its a thickening agent, so it thickens it
so when it is cool you can cut a slice out of it, keep stirring until it comes to a simmer
and when it starts to get really thick you can swap to a wooden spoon
just to get into all those corners and make sure nothing is sticking. As soon as you have the consistency you have there
and its been bubbling away now for about a minute.... see it's nice and thick
then we pour the whole thing over our biscuit base
so its not particularly thick but you saw how much lemon we put into it, so it is very very sharp
it then needs to go into a fridge to set up,
it'll need a couple of hours until it completely sets
and then we can do our final layer.
now that our curd has set we can concentrate on the meringue part of our
Lemon Meringue Pie
so, three eggs, all you need to do is just crack them in there, with the whites in one and the yolks in the other
make sure you have a clean bowl and no greasy fingers
beautiful
ill tell you what
practice does make perfect
and if i do say so myself... i am perfection
there you go
so you need to whip this up, you could do it by hand or you can use our clever machine
and while Barry is whisking up that we can look at our pie
now that it is set, all you need to do is lift it out
look at that
we'll stick it straight on a board
how are we doing with our stiff peaks? Perfect
we'll now make it sweet
by adding in our caster sugar, because and the moment it is just egg white
this is what makes it into the meringue
look at that, effortless meringue
from here you put it into a piping bag
lets finish the dessert with some finesse
if i pipe do you want to burn? YES!!!!
thought so
does this involve a flamethrower?? it does yes.
pipe our meringue
around our lemon
neat piping
and then do it in rings
that looks amazing!
turn the gas on then do that... Wo!
and then from a distance
nice an gentle
caramelise around the top but you don't wont to burn it,
you want the sweet golden colour!
as the sugars caramelise
once it starts to go it doesn't take much
and if you haven't got one of these?
under a really hot grill, a very very very hot grill. Pop it under and it'll do the same job
look at that! Turn it off!
so there it is, three layers, a buttery biscuit base , a lemon curd
and the meringue
its our lemon meringue pie... SORTED
It should cut pretty nicely, look at that
that is meringue pie
sharp, sweet, crunch! That is incredible, and i know why your here now. What?! I thoght i'd come have a look...
good work! dont forget we have loads of recipes at sortedfood.com
and we would love to see your photos, so upload them.... Ahhhh No
that went right up my nose!
not over our pie
go check out the site sortedfood.com
and upload your photos at Facebook.com/sortedfood
we love seeing your lemon meringue pie moments