lemon meringue pie

Anyone that knows me well will tell you I am a sucker for meringue based desserts, especially when it's paired with sharp citrus flavours.. and my absolute favourite has to be the classic lemon meringue topped with fluffy swiss meringue that's lightly torched giving it a slight crisp finish.

Making my own lemon meringue pie has been on my baking bucket list for such a long while, and since I made some Lemon curd to gift at Christmas this year, it was the perfect chance to make one whilst I actually had every ingredient at hand.

To make a 9 inch round pie you will need

1 batch of my Sweet short crust pastry

Lemon curd*

For the swiss meringue topping:

300g caster sugar

6 egg whites

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

• Preheat your oven to 180c ( fan)

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to about 1/2       an inch thick

• Line a 9"/23cm loose bottom tart tin with the pastry, and place in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes

• Line the pastry case with baking paper, and fill with baking    beans/ dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the        oven, remove the paper and beans.

• Place back in the oven for about 5- 8 minutes or until the          case is lightly golden all over. Remove from the oven and set    aside

• To make the swiss meringue topping, place all the            ingredients in a bowl, and place the bowl over a ban marie      ( a bowl of simmering water)  and stir together until the sugar has completely melted, and the temperature reaches 71c.

• Remove from the heat and with an electric whisk or free standing mixer, whisk the egg whites until thick and fluffy, they should hold their shape and form stiff peaks.

• Pour the lemon curd into the cooled pastry case* making sure it's level and smooth.

• Spread the swiss meringue all over the top of the curd, ensuring it is all covered, use the back of a spoon to make peaks all over.

• Use a blowtorch to lighlty torch the meringue all over, alternativley, place under your grill - but stay close as it will brown quite quickly.

• Carefully remove from the tart tin and serve.

* For the lemon curd i used my home made curd, but you can always use shop bought, i filled the tart with the curd almost to the top of the case- i left about 1/2 gap for the merigue topping

To make mini lemon pies, cut out 12 circles using a cookie cutter just slightly larger than the holes .. line each hole with with a pastry circle,  add 2 tsp of curd into each case .. pop in the fridge for 15 mins 

Bake for 8-10 mins until the pastry is lightly golden. Leave to completely cool before finishing off with the meringue topping