So this week’s blog is definitely a refreshing one. As I’ve got more time to bake the blogs are starting to pile up but this bake wasn’t one I had planned at all. I knew I wanted to bake this week I just needed some inspiration. I was just about to start making scones when I asked if we had any lemons in the house. Luckily, we did and so this week’s blog is me making Lemon Meringue pie. An interesting one considering I don’t like lemons that much but I wanted to try it. Me and my mam baked it together and I was so pleased when it was finished, admittedly it isn’t as perfect as I would like it especially the pastry but it’s all a learning curve. Whilst in lockdown you may as well try new things, I’m trying things I haven’t baked before. I also have my Dad’s birthday cake to make this weekend which I’m really excited for, that will be next weeks blog.
So for the pie I started by making the pastry. This is certainly not a strongpoint for me, but I tried. As you can see from the photos it was far from perfect. I rubbed 110g butter and 225g plain flour until it resembled breadcrumbs. I always find this really therapeutic. I added 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and mixed. The binding is 1 egg yolk but I added some more milk to help the pastry come together. This is something you need to judge by eye, you don’t want it too wet. I chilled the pastry but it didn’t feel like it had the right consistency. Something to work on in the future, it was a hassle trying to get it into the tin. I tried a couple of times and in the end, I did a patchwork job on the pastry just to get it in the tin. This didn’t help with the final look of the pie. I blind baked the pastry for 15 minutes at 160 degrees then I removed the baking beans and baked for a further 10 minutes. I wasn’t hopeful it was going to be a success at this point, but I still persevered.
I roped my mam in to help make the lemon curd because it’s not my favourite. I zested one lemon and juiced two lemons. I weighed out all the ingredients before I started making the curd. I had 85g butter at the side and 4 egg yolks in a bowl. In a saucepan I had 80g cornflour and 325g caster sugar. I heated this until it was all combined. I then added the lemon juice and zest and heated until it thickened bringing it to the boil and then simmering. I removed it from the heat and added the egg yolks and butter and stirred. This became a really satisfying consistency and was so thick and smooth. I poured this into the pastry tin let it cool and set completely.
At this point it seemed redeemable once the lemon curd was in. The meringue was what I was looking forward to the most. I added 75ml of water and 225g sugar in a saucepan and heated. At the same time I started to whisk my egg whites until they had soft peaks. I heated the sugar syrup until it was around 120 degrees. At this point I added the sugar to the egg whites and whisked until it had cooled. The consistency of this was a dream, so glossy and smooth. I smoothed this onto the top of the pie and edged it out. You could pipe this on top if you preferred. I added this on top and then created some peaks using a knife. You can either colour the meringue in a preheated oven for a couple of minutes or use a blowtorch. I had a lot of fun colouring the top of the meringue and using the blowtorch.
I absolutely loved the look of this pie and it was something totally different to what I would normally make. I know I’ve got areas to improve on but this dessert gave me ideas for future bakes. It hasn’t been that bad in isolation this week, baking as per usual is getting me through. I hope you have a great weekend, I’ll keep you posted on how my Dads birthday cake goes this weekend.
Lots of love,
Hannah xx
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