Mouthwateringly good lemon meringue pie

There’s nothing more suited to be served up at a dinner party than this tasty lemon pie. Not only is the flavour mouthwateringly good but it’s an absolute crowd-pleaser that never fails to have everyone asking you for the recipe!

While it takes some time to perfect this zesty pie, don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t turn out perfectly the first time you make as we all know that practice makes perfect. Regardless of how it turns out, this pie is nothing short of delicious when the crumbly base, flavourful filling and fluffy meringue topping all comes together! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 125g butter, chilled, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons iced water
  Lemon filling
• 50g (1/3 cup) cornflour
• 125ml (1/2 cup) water
• 250ml (1 cup) fresh lemon juice
• 430g (2 cups) caster sugar
• 60g butter, coarsely chopped
• 4 eggs, separated

Method

1. Sift flour and icing sugar into large bowl. Use fingertips to rub butter into flour mixture until resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add water and use round-bladed knife to stir until dough forms. Use hands to bring dough together in bowl. Turn onto sheet of non-stick baking paper. Roll out to a 5mm-thick disc. Use pastry to line a 23cm (base measurement) pie dish. Trim excess pastry. Cover pastry with baking paper. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Preheat oven to 180C. Fill lined dish with uncooked rice. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove paper and rice. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Set aside to cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, for filling, combine cornflour, water, lemon juice and half the sugar in saucepan. Use balloon whisk to stir over medium heat for 4 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for further 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter and egg yolks. Transfer to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for 3 hours or until cooled completely.
4. Preheat oven to 190C. Use electric beater to beat egg whites in clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, 1 tablespoonful at time until mixture is thick and glossy.
5. Spread filling over base of pastry case. Spoon over meringue mixture and spread to edge of the pastry. Use back of a spoon to create peaks. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until meringue peaks are light golden. Set aside to cool completely. Serve.