30 March 2011

Lemon Lime Meringue Pie

This is a short and sweet post as I sit in an Amsterdam hotel room before heading out for dinner, oddly there is a plethora of Argentinian restaurants, they are everywhere!  My second night at home and a little bit of a kitchen take over and the need to make something sweet.  One of Dad's favourites is Lemon Meringue Pie and I had just read this and love the idea of a biscuit rather than pastry crust.  So I took both as a signs that I should try my hand at some sort of lemon meringue pie.  I also have never made meringue and thought it was about time I did, living in NZ it is only appropriate that I should be able to make our national dessert, pavlova.


I love limes, they do add a little tropicana, and I do prefer tarter when it comes to any sort of lemon in dessert so this morphed from a lemon meringue pie in to a lemon lime meringue pie.  My favourite biscuits for any type of biscuit crumb are McVities Digestives, but feel free to use what you prefer.  I am thinking that a mixture of the digestives with a few ginger snaps thrown in would work a treat.  To add a little zing to the crust I added a good dose of both lemon and lime zest.  I also cooked it a little longer than most as I like my meringue a little more cooked with a good golden crunch to it.


Lemon Lime Meringue Pie

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

2 cups, approx 10-12 digestive biscuits
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter, melted

For the lemon filling

1/3 cup corn flour
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Juice and zest of 3 limes....1 cup of juice all together
3/4 cup water
Pinch salt
25g butter, cut in to pieces

For the meringue

4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup caster sugar

Directions

Pre heat the oven to 180C / 375F

For the crust

Place the digestives, zests and cinnamon in to a food processor and whiz until you have a fine crumb.  Add the melted butter and whiz again.  It will have the consistency of slightly damp sand.
Press the biscuit mixture in to a flan or pie dish, over the bottom and up the sides to create a crust.  Place in the pre heated oven for 10 minutes until golden.  Remove and allow to cool completely.


For the lemon filling

Place the corn flour, egg yolks, lemon and lime juice, lemon and lime zest, salt in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and mix them all together to combine.   Add the water and whisk until all the ingredients are well combined together.  Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to ensure a smooth consistency until the mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for just a moment and keep stirring.

Remove the lemon lime mixture from the heat and add the butter.  Whisk until the butter is completely melted and you have a smooth, silky consistency.  Pour the mixture in to the cooled biscuit crust and allow it to cool.

For the meringue

Whip together the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer until they are frothy.  Continue to whip and slowly add the sugar.  Beat until you have a thick glossy mixture and stiff peaks.

Pour the meringue over the lemon lime mixture.  Make sure that the meringue completely covers the lemon and lime mixture and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden.



We prefer our lemon meringue pie hot, so there was no waiting around for anything too cool.  Serve with some cream or ice cream for a light, cirtusy dessert.  The biscuit base is a much lighter than a pastry crust and I like the texture, slightly crisp with the lemon and lime zest livening things up and the cinnamon adding just a hint of sweet warmth.  The pie filling was tart and full of citrus zing all topped of by the sweet meringue, just a little chewy on the outside and mallowy light inside.  With a good dollop of cream, very, very good.




Enjoy! And for more sweet treats check out the sweet treat linky party at Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

7 comments:

  1. Niiiice! I also posted something with lemons, but it is not edible!!!!


    ciao
    Alessandra

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  2. So good, and beautiful photos as always. And I'm jealous you're in Amsterdam, love that place. This pie has just jumped to top of my next-to-make list, yay!

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  3. Next time we meet up, you should bring this! Love lime and lemon!

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  4. Mmm, that meringue looks so fluffy and that filling must have made for such a wonderful sweet-tart taste. Lovely. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your pie up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/04/sweets-for-saturday-11.html

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  5. This looks fantastic! I adore lemony desserts, so this sounds just perfect!

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