Another Paradox

 
I‘ve been wanting to try this recipe for so long! Am I so glad I finally did it!
 


 

 
Lemon Meringue Pie. Classic indeed. The first time I heard about this dessert, I have to admit, I –a liiiitle bit– underestimated it. Ok, it has a crust, then lemon cream, then meringue. It is surely sweet and nice, but heck, no surprises. Little did I know I was gonna get one spoonful of surprises in my mouth.
 
It was oooooh so good! Remember the first time you tried a Pavlova? You thought the combination was just okay, but then, wow! Anna Pavlova had to be a very very wonderful person to have her name immortalized by this wonderful dessert. This is a similar case. You wouldn’t guess what the combination of this three classic regular layers will do to your day. Color it happy, baby. So happy indeed.
 

 
The cream was smooth and tangy, the buttery crust was nicely crumbles, the topping was crunchy on the outside, soft and cottony on the inside. Sweet, comforting, surprising. How can a surprise be comforting? Hm. Another paradox.
 

 
Lemon Meringue Pie
Source: “Desserts” by Gina Steer, published by Woman’s Own
 
Pastry:
225 g plain flour
150 g butter or margarine
25 g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
 
Filling:
juice and rind of 3 lemons
50 g butter
27 g corn flour
3 egg yolks
50-75 g caster sugar
 
Meringue:
3 egg whites
175 g sugar
 

 
Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
2. Place flour in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until mixture resebles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar, beat egg yolk with 1 Tbsp cold water, then use to bind the pastry. Knead until smooth, wrap in greaseproof paper or clearwrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Roll pastry out on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 9 inch/23 cm loose-bottomed flan tin. Prick the base with fork, bake for 10-15 minutes.

 

 


4. Make up the juice of 3 lemons to 750 ml with water. reserve about 5 Tbsp for diluting the corn flour. Place in a saucepan with the lemon rind and butter. Bring to boil. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend the cornflour with 4 Tbsp of water and the reserved lemon water, then stir into the boiling liquid. Cook over gentle heat or until it is thickened.
5. Allow the liquid to cool, then beat in egg yolks. Pour into flan case. Return to oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the filling is set.


 

6. Whisk egg whites until stiff then add the sugar and whisk until very stiff. Swirl the mixture on top of the flan with a spoon. Reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees celcius and backe the lemon meringue pie for a further 25-30 minutes. Serve either hot or cold.

Note:

• I used all 4 egg whites, ‘coz I love big meringue top.
• Be careful when stirring the corn flour mixture into the boiling liquid. I suggest to turn down the heat to the lowest or put it off completely before adding in cornflour because it will thicken fast when heated, creating ugly lumps. When the mixture started to thicken slowly and smoothly, you can turn the heat back up.
• Do not be discouraged when you think the lemon cream is not sweet enough. The sweet meringue top will make up for it.

Ooh, ooh, I also made Chocolate Meringue Pie. Now that was another dessert you wouldn’t wanna miss. Will post soon.