Mary Berry is known for her fantastic bakes, from her classic scones to her incredible coffee and walnut cake recipe, there are so many to choose from.
Her lemon meringue pie is another recipe that is adored and sure to be a big crowd pleaser.
Not only is this recipe “easy” to whip up it will ensure you don’t fall into the trap of a soggy base. She claimed that there would be “no soggy bottoms in sight”.
The lemon meringue pie will take less than 30 minutes to make and 30 minutes to cook.
This recipe makes eight to 10 servings and was very highly rated by many people.
Ingredients
For the pastry
225g plain flour
175g butter
45g icing sugar
One large egg, beaten
For the lemon filling
Six lemons, zest and juice
65g cornflour
250g caster sugar
Six egg yolks
For the meringue topping
Four egg whites
225g caster sugar
Two teaspoons cornflour
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 before getting to work on the pastry. For this step, add the flour and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles “fine breadcrumbs”. At this stage add the icing sugar, egg and one tablespoon of water and whizz again until combined to a ball.
Tip the pastry onto a work surface and roll out to a 3mm thickness. Use the rolling pin to lift the pastry and transfer it to line a nine-inch loose-bottomed flan tin. Be careful not to stretch the pastry as you tuck it into the corners. Cover in cling film and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
After, take the pastry-lined tin out of the fridge and trim the excess pastry. Press the top edge of the pastry so that it stands slightly higher than the top of the tin.
Line the pastry case with parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for about 15 minutes then remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for a further five minutes.
Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 170C/340F/Gas 3 and a half. Then get to work on the filling.
For the filling, mix the lemon zest and juice with the cornflour and stir to form a smooth paste. Measure 450ml of water into a pan and bring to a boil. Add the lemon cornflour mixture to the hot water and stir over the heat until the mixture has thickened, then remove from the heat.
In a bowl mix together the sugar and egg yolks and carefully whisk into the lemon mixture in the pan. Stir over a medium heat until thickened. Set aside for a few minutes and then pour into the baked pastry case.
For the meringue, whisk the egg whites in a free-standing mixer until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the caster sugar a little at a time, still whisking until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Add the cornflour and whisk again.
Spoon the meringue on top of the filled pastry case and spread it to completely cover the lemon filling. Then create a swirl on the top of the meringue.
Finish off by baking in the oven for about 15 minutes until the filling is completely set and the meringue is lightly golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely before cutting or serve very slightly warm.
