Lemon meringue pie

Being a serious sweet tooth, I love classic lemon meringue pie. I’ve tasted many versions of it, and after many baking attempts at home I’ve now perfected the recipe for the way I like my lemon meringue. It should be tangy enough to get your tongue in a twist, but just sweet enough to make you go back for more. And the most important part is the fluffy meringue on top – light and fluffy, pale golden brown, showing off in all directions with beautiful creamy twirls.

For the base and the filling, I follow the recipe from “Huisgenoot Top 500 Wenresepte”. Then I turn down the heat a bit and add extra egg whites with sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to create my favourite meringue topping.

This is really a delicious pie! Use a large knife dipped in  recently boiled water to cut it – it makes all the difference.

Ingredients for base:

• 1 packet (200 g) Tennis biscuits
• 100 g butter, melted

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 can (385 g) condensed milk
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks

Ingredients for the meringue topping:

• 4 egg whites
• 150 ml sugar
• 5 ml vanilla essence
• 5 ml lemon juice

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
2. In a food processor, process the Tennis biscuits to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix well. Firmly press crumb mixture into a medium-size tart pan or loose bottomed tart tin, covering the base and sides evenly.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk condensed milk while adding lemon juice a bit at a time. Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl, then add to condensed milk mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into tart pan, then bake for 10 minutes.
4. While filling is baking, use a clean dry bowl to whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks (make sure your whisk is also clean and dry). Add sugar a little bit at a time, whisking continuously until the mixture is thick and glossy. Add vanilla and lemon juice and fold into meringue mixture.
5. Remove tart pan from oven after baking for 10 minutes. Turn down heat to 150 C. Immediately top with meringue mixture, working carefully. Create beautiful swirls on top with a palette knife. Return to oven to 20-30 minutes, or until meringue is a pale golden brown colour. Remove from oven and cool completely, then slice and serve!

Credits:

This post was especially written for The Pretty Blog by Ilse van der Merwe from The Food Fox.

Food: Ilse van der Merwe from The Food Fox.

Photography: Tasha Seccombe.

Styling: Nicola Pretorius, Tasha Seccombe & Ilse van der Merwe.