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 

Luscious lemon drizzle

My luscious lemon drizzle is really one of my easiest cakes to make, yet its just as delicious. The sponge itself is light and fluffy, amd made even lighter with the optinal addition of buttermilk.

I decided to add in buttermilk on this occasion to  coincide with dairy week on GBBO. You can leave it out if you wish to as it will still be just as delicious.

 To make an 8 inch round of my luscious lemon drizzle you will need

8 inch round cake tin

225g self raising flour

225g caster sugar

225g margarine - at room temp 

5 meduim eggs - at room temp

Zest of 2 lemons 

50ml buttermilk ( optional)

For the drizzle

Juice of 2 lemons

100g caster sugar

For the drip icing 

200g icing sugar

4-5 tbsp water

Zest of 1 lemon

• Preheat your oven to 160c (fan assisted) lightly grease and line your tin and set aside.
• Cream your sugar and margarine,using an electric whisk or in your free standing mixer, until pale and fluffy
• Add in one egg at a time ensuring each egg is fully combined.
• Fold in the flour, buttermilk and zest with a spatula or metal spoon
• Pour the prepared batter into the tin, bake for 40-45 mimutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean, set the cake aside still in its tin.
• To make the drizzle , put the lemon juice and caster sugar into a saucepan and heat very gently and stir together until the sugar melts - and remove from the heat immediately. You don't need to boil it at all, just warm enough so the sugar melts
• Take a tooth pick anc poke holes all over the top of the still warm cake, then pour the dizzle all over the top so the drizzle seeps into the cake - I used a small jug to make the pouring easier. Leave the cake in the tin to completley cool, as it will most likely fall apart if you try to remove it at this point
• Once the sponge has completely cooled, place onto your choice of serving plate.
• Make the topping by adding the water a little at a time to the icing sugar, mixing together to form a semi thick paste - you want it to be spreadable without being runny.
• Spread the preapared icing straight on to the top of the cake with a palette knife or butter knife. If you want to have it drip over the edge, spread the icing all the way to the edge and give it a gentle push so it falls down the sides of the cake. Finish off with a sprinkling of lemon zest and serve 

Amy's tabouleh

Amy's tabouleh .. I've named this recipe as such due to the fact that tabouleh is something that I'd always wanted to try but never actually had up until meeting with my friend Amy for a girly catch up and a cooking session of all sorts of little bits and bobs.  Not only do I absolutely love the flavour and textures in this dish, but I love how it consists of s little and there's no exact measurements of ingredients ; Simply toss it all together and tweak as you go along .

So for Amy's tabouleh you will need :

about 200g bulgar wheat*
a bunch of mint
a bunch of flat leaf parsley
a bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 tomatoes
pomegranate seeds
olive oil
lemon juice (optional)
salt and pepper to season

• Start by boiling the bulgar wheat in a pan until just tender, (just as you would with rice, it will also expand as rice does as it cooks away ) drain any remaining water, put into a bowl or dish you want to serve it in and leave to completely cool, then add a good splash of olive oil & a little lemon juice
• While the wheat cools, finely chop half the bunch of mint, coriander and parsley, add it into the wheat and stir through
• Roughly chop the tomato, add to the bowl along with the pomegranate seeds. Season with a little salt and pepper, check if your happy with the flavours and if you need to add more of whatever you feel it needs to. 
• Serve as you would a side salad with any main or simply eat on it's own as it is 

* if you're not keen on bulgar wheat you can swap it with cous cous. All you'd need to do is soak the cous cous with freshly boiled water. You need just enough water to cover the cous cous and cover it with cling film and leave for about 5-10 minutes to fluff up. You could even try bulgar whet with quinoa 

Stuffed sweet potato skins with feta & coriander

The recipe for this post is a combination of ingredients that you wouldn't think would go together, but they really do. It's a recipe I've tweaked from a Jamie Oliver recipe and it's even a favourite with my kids.

These stuffed skins are great as a starter or even as a main accompanied with a mixed leaf salad. If you're having them as a starter I'd suggest cutting the potatoes into quarters rather than halves for a main.


for 4 people you'll need half a sweet potato per person i.e. a whole potato per 2 people along with :

1 lemon
100-120g feta cheese
bunch of fresh chopped coriander
olive oil

• Start by pre heating your oven to 200c (180c fan assisted). Wash the sweet potatoes, and place them in a microwavable bowl, cut the lemon in half and add into the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film, seal well and pierce a few holes for the steam to escape from.
• Steam in the microwave for 10-15 minutes, checking on them half way through. The potatoes should be cooked through and ready when you can pierce them with a fork easily. 
• Leave the potatoes to cool, and remove the lemon to a side - don't throw it away
• Once the potatoes have slightly cooled, cut them in half carefully and with a spoon remove the potato from the skins into a separate bowl
• Once all the potatoes have been removed from the skins, brush each of the skins with a little olive oil and place onto a baking tray
• Mash up the potatoes in the bowl, it doesnt have to be perfectly mashed, i quite like it roughly done. Crumble in the feta and stir through. Squeeze in juice from the lemon that was removed earlier 
• Spoon the mashed potato and feta mix evenly back into the potato skins and bake in the oven till the skins have crisped up and are golden brown
• Sprinkle over the chopped coriander and serve