I made this pie a couple of weeks ago with moms recipe and it turned out perfect as always. The meingue and the filling are a little bit tricky if you're not used to baking. This takes a little bit of time to prep so it can take more time for you than it did for me. But the final result is absolutely fabulous and worth the time spent in making. The ingredients are the following:
Lemon filling:
1 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup cornstarch
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
1 1⁄2 cups water
Lemon juice and zest from 2 fresh lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Meringue Topping
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
Pastry
1 1/2 cup plain flour
125g butter, chilled, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons iced water
1. Start with the lemon filling by combining cornflour, water, lemon juice and half the sugar in a saucepan. Whisk to stir over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for another minute before removing from heat. Whisk in butter and egg yolks. Transfer the lemon filling to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 3 hours or until cooled completely.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C.
3. To make the crust; start by mixing the flour with the butter with your fingers. Add sugar and finally add some ficed water slowly to form a dough. Roll out the dough to fit into a 23 cm pie dish. Trim excess pastry and cover the pastry with baking paper. Fill the lined dish with pastry weights. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
4. While the crust and filling are cooling you can start making the meringue. Whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form with an electric beater (don't try to whisk by hand). Gradually add half of the sugar and the cornflour. Then add the remaining sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy.
5. Reduce the temperature to 170°C.
6. Now it's time to assembly your pie like mounting an IKEA furniture. Start with filling the crust with the lemon filling. If your filling has set you can try to heat it up lightly in the microwave. Then you can either spread spoonful of meringue on top of your filling or pipe the meringue in the desired design.
7. Bake your pie in the oven for about 15 minutes until the filling is completely set and the meringue is lightly golden and crisp.
Good luck baking!
Lemon filling:
1 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup cornstarch
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
6 large egg yolks
1 1⁄2 cups water
Lemon juice and zest from 2 fresh lemons)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Meringue Topping
2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
Pastry
1 1/2 cup plain flour
125g butter, chilled, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons iced water
1. Start with the lemon filling by combining cornflour, water, lemon juice and half the sugar in a saucepan. Whisk to stir over medium heat for 4 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for another minute before removing from heat. Whisk in butter and egg yolks. Transfer the lemon filling to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 3 hours or until cooled completely.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C.
3. To make the crust; start by mixing the flour with the butter with your fingers. Add sugar and finally add some ficed water slowly to form a dough. Roll out the dough to fit into a 23 cm pie dish. Trim excess pastry and cover the pastry with baking paper. Fill the lined dish with pastry weights. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and pastry weights. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool.
4. While the crust and filling are cooling you can start making the meringue. Whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form with an electric beater (don't try to whisk by hand). Gradually add half of the sugar and the cornflour. Then add the remaining sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy.
5. Reduce the temperature to 170°C.
6. Now it's time to assembly your pie like mounting an IKEA furniture. Start with filling the crust with the lemon filling. If your filling has set you can try to heat it up lightly in the microwave. Then you can either spread spoonful of meringue on top of your filling or pipe the meringue in the desired design.
7. Bake your pie in the oven for about 15 minutes until the filling is completely set and the meringue is lightly golden and crisp.
Good luck baking!