Lemon Meringue Pie

   Lemon meringue pie can be a little tricky to make but it tastes delicious and looks very impressive. I have included my recipe for the pie below:

for the pastry you will need...

250g plain flour
180g cold butter (cut into cubes)
50g custard powder
1 egg
splash of milk
pinch of salt

sift the flour and custard powder into a large mixing bowl. add butter and massage into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it becomes breadcrumb like in consistency. make a well in the centre and add egg and milk slowly, stirring with a butter knife. knead until pastry is a smooth ball and wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

for the lemon curd you will need:

5 level table spoons cornflour
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
230ml water
60g butter (cut into cubes)
3 large egg yolks + 1 whole egg

in a saucepan combine the cornflour, lemon juice and water and stir till smooth. place the saucepan on the heat and bring to the boil while stirring. reduce heat and keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and jelly like, remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, whole eggs and butter. refrigerate this mixture until cold. (usually the mixture sets firm but if it does not appear to be firm enough you can either add 1 more whole egg or more butter. wait until the mixture is cool before you make this decision as it will become firmer as it cools)

for the meringue you will need:

3 large egg whites 
3/4 cup sugar

beat eggs in electric mixer until they form soft peaks, gradually add sugar and continue mixing until meringue is firm

to put it all together:

grease a pie flan. roll out pastry on floured surface and line flan with it. place a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and shake some heavy beans or uncooked rice over the covered base. then back your pastry at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. The rice will weight the pastry down so it does not rise while you are baking the base.

allow the pastry shell to cool before adding the curd. finally, heap the meringue on top (sometimes I make extra meringue just to make it look more impressive) then spread evenly over the curd. use the back of a spoon to make peaks in the meringue or any other pattern you wish. return pie to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until meringue beings to brown slightly. chill in fridge until cool...
serve!

see, it's not so hard