Step by step: lemon meringue pie
I’m still struggling with this photography lark, y’know. It’s not easy trying to take classy pictures when you’re up to your elbows in egg whites. I’m going to wreck my camera at this rate. Still, here we go with another step by step: this time a classic lemon meringue pie.
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- Lemon curd
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- press the pastry into the dish
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- baking beans
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- soft peaks
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- meringue
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- cover the lemon curd
For the pastry, you’ll need:
115g butter, melted
100g caster sugar
175g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Firstly, preheat the oven to 180/gas 4. Pour the melted butter into the sugar and stir. Then add the flour and teeny pinch of salt and mix it around until it becomes a thick paste. Press the mixture into your flan dish or baking tin (about 24cm should do it), then bake it blind (scrunch up a bit of greaseproof paper, then smooth it over the pastry and pour in the baking beans) for about 15 minutes. Then take it out of the oven, remove the baking beans and put it back in to cook the bottom (ooer) for about another 5 minutes, then take it out and leave to cool. Turn the oven down to gas 2/150 degrees.
Meanwhile, make the lemon curd:
100g butter
2 lemons, zested then juiced
150g caster sugar
2 eggs plus 1 extra yolk (keep the white for the meringue)
Take a saucepan and bung in the butter, lemon juice and zest and caster sugar. Melt it all together slowly until the sugar is all dissolved. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until well combined. Now, take your warm, lemony, butter mixture and gently pour a little bit into the egg, whisking all the time, then a bit more, then a bit more, until you’ve combined about half of it with the eggs. Now bung that lot back into the saucepan and keep whisking and simmering until the mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Remember to just stir it occasionally to keep it from getting a skin on. When it’s about room temperature, pour it into the pastry case.
Finally, for the meringue:
4 egg whites
225g caster sugar
Whisk the eggs in a very clean bowl until they form stiff peaks, then keep whisking while you add the sugar, spoon by spoon, until it’s all incorporated and the meringue is thick and glossy. At this point, it’s best to keep passing children from all trying to nab fingerfulls of the meringue mixture. I find something pointy helps here. Pile it all on top of the lemon curd and fluff it up a bit. Bake in the very low oven (gas 2/150 degrees) for about 40 to 50 minutes, depending on how squelchy you like your meringue. Guard the pie with your pointy implement until it’s at room temperature, then quickly take it into the bathroom, lock the door, and stuff into face.
25 Responses to “Step by step: lemon meringue pie”
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Cortes: Oh, I need photos to see if it’s better than mine! The top pic isn’t loading properly, but I might replace it as I sliced it when it was still warm and all the lemon curd oozed away! I’ll get a better one today.
CP x
@English Mum: You need to make a half step by half step guide, i got lost!
Wee One: Actually, it’s probably quite gross to talk about eating in the bathroom, but you get my drift
Spud: Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough. Hee hee! x
Paddy: She means my bathroom door after what I said in my last sentence. Keep up, man. I’ll do you a teeny-steps version if you like
Jen: Doh! The secret’s out.
Kate: I thought of you when I was making this. Chocolate-free!
I think this is a different beast altogether!!
Sandra: So did I!!! I was chatting to Hubby about this today – remember the lemon curd bit used to be strangely fluorescent too? Weird. x
Gill: Welcome! Just the thing for a nippy Zürich weekend, I’m sure. Let me know how you get on!
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