Lemon Meringue Pie

I love lemon desserts, they are so zesty and refreshing, I sometimes find some desserts to sweet or heavy but never this pie.

Mum's Cordon Bleu Lemon Meringue Pie is the best one I have found.  The filling is a lemon custard not a lemon curd and is just yummy, there have always been fights over the last slice of this pie since I was a kid.  Mum always wins!

1 x Sweet Pastry

Filling

600ml Milk
1 tbspn Sugar
2 tbspn Corn Flour
2 Egg Yolks
Zest and Juice of 2 lemons

Meringue

3 Egg Whites
6 tbspn Castor Sugar

Line pie dish with rolled pastry.  Rest for 30 mins in fridge and then blind bake until golden.

Heat the milk, sugar and cornflour, stirring until thickened, this should take about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in the egg yolks.  Return to the heat and stir until thickened, the mixture should resemble a custard, add lemon juice and zest.

Pour the custard into the cooked pie shell and bake  at 170C for 20 minutes.

While the filling is baking beat the egg whites until fluffy.

Add the sugar 2 tablespoons at a time while the mixer is running.  You will know the meringue is ready when it is glossy and when you pull the whisk out of the mixer the egg whites hold their shape. 

Another good test is to rub a small amount of the meringue between your fingers and you should not be able to feel any sugar grains, the meringue should feel smooth.

Top the pie with the meringue and sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the top.  Bake at 150C for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool before serving.