Desserts
British
BritishLemon Meringue Pie
The classic sharp-and-sweet British pudding shown three ways. The basic leans on a packet mix and ready pastry, while the ultimate has a hand-made pate sucree, a rich lemon curd and an Italian meringue.
Vegetarian
Nut-free
Ultimate version
Buttery pate sucree, a silky egg-yolk lemon curd and a torched Italian meringue.
Per serving£1.48
Total cost£11.80
Time1 hr 25 min
Ingredients for 8
- Pate sucree
- 220 g plain flour
- 130 g unsalted French butter , softened
- 80 g icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks , for pastry
- Lemon curd
- 6 unwaxed lemons , zest and juice
- 6 egg yolks , for curd
- 200 g caster sugar , for curd
- 120 g unsalted butter , diced, for curd
- Italian meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 220 g caster sugar , for meringue syrup
- 60 ml water , for syrup
Method
- Cream the soft butter with icing sugar, beat in the yolks then the flour to a smooth pate sucree, chill, line a tart tin and blind bake at 180C until evenly golden.
- Whisk the lemon zest, juice, yolks and sugar over a bain-marie until thick, then beat in the diced butter for a glossy curd and pour into the cooled case.
- Boil the meringue sugar and water to 118C, then whisk the hot syrup into the whipped egg whites and continue until stiff, glossy and cooled.
- Pipe the Italian meringue over the set curd in generous peaks.
- Scorch the meringue with a blowtorch until amber-tipped and serve at room temperature.
Equipment
- fluted tart tin
- stand mixer
- sugar thermometer
- blowtorch
- piping bag
The three ways, side by side
Budget
Ready-rolled pastry case and a packet lemon pie filling, topped with a simple meringue.
Better
Homemade sweet shortcrust and a real lemon curd filling under a soft-peaked meringue.
Ultimate
Buttery pate sucree, a silky egg-yolk lemon curd and a torched Italian meringue.
