Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
A gluten free, dairy free lemon meringue pie and no one would guess. If you find the lemon filling a little bit tart then please add more sugar to the mix. My husband made this for my birthday instead of a traditional cake because he knows it’s my favourite and one of those dishes you rarely find.
Ingredients for Pastry:
340 g gluten free plain flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
Pinch of salt
60 g vegetable lard (chilled and cubed)
65 g dairy free spread (chilled and cubed)
125 g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 large yolk
Juice from half lemon
Grated zest from whole lemon
1 beaten egg with 1 tbsp. of dairy free milk
Makes 710 g
Enough to line two 20 - 23 cm tart tins
You only need to make one so use half the ingredients for the pastry or make the double batch as I do and freeze the second for use another day.
Preparation time 15 minutes
Chilling time minimum 1 hour
Freeze for up to 2 months
Ingredients for Lemon Filling:
200 ml lemon juice (approx. 5 lemons)
50 ml orange juice (2 oranges)
200 g caster sugar
25 g cornflour
3 egg yolks (save whites for the Meringue)
25 g dairy free spread
Ingredients for Meringue
4 egg whites (you will have 3 from the filling so you only need one more)
115 g caster sugar
115 g icing sugar
Method for Pastry:
Place the flour, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl or food processor.
Add the chilled lard and dairy free spread and mix lightly with fingertips for 2 minutes or pulse lightly in food processor for 30 seconds.
Tip into a large bowl and add the sugar. Stir lightly and make well in the centre.
Beat the eggs and yolk together.
Place into centre of well. Mix together with a metal spoon to begin with and then with your hands.
Gradually bring pastry together. It will appear dry to begin with but don’t add any additional liquid.
Handle the dough as little as possible. Flatten and wrap in clingfilm and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the chilled pastry to a circle which needs to be larger than the tart tin and around 3 mm thick. Line the tin and then prick with a fork all over before chilling in the fridge for a further 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170° Fan / 375°F / Gas Mark 5 and place baking sheet in oven to heat.
Remove the tart tin from the fridge. Place parchment paper over the pastry and place the ceramic balls on top. Place in the oven on the hot baking sheet for 15 minutes. The pastry should be turning golden brown so remove from the oven and remove the parchment paper and ceramic balls - remember these will be very hot so please take care.
Brush the pastry cake with the egg and milk mixture and place back in the oven for a further 10 minutes or until golden all over.
Remove from oven and set aside to cool on a rack.
Method for the Filling
Reduce oven temperature to 170°C / 150° Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 3.
Place the juice, sugar, cornflour and eggs into a medium saucepan and whisk over a medium to low heat until smooth. Finally add the dairy free spread and continue to whisk. Whisk constantly until the mixture is boiling. Taste and add more sugar if it’s not sweet enough for you.
Pour the mixture onto the pastry case and leave to cool completely.
Method for the Meringue
Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks appear. I use my KitchenAid Stand Mixer for this. Increase the speed and add the caster sugar gradually. Continue until the egg whites look thick and glossy. We still have the icing sugar to add so sift this first and add a third at a time. Fold this in carefully with a metal spoon as you want to keep the air in the mixture.
The pastry case and filling must be cold before you complete the next step.
Pile the meringue onto the cold lemon filling and make decorative peaks. My husband kept ours flat as he wanted to add candles to the top!
Bake the tart in the oven for approximately 25 minutes. The meringue should be golden.
Leave to cool before serving.
Additional Notes for Pastry:
Keep everything as cool as possible. When the fat in the pastry is chilled throughout the preparation period then your pastry is not too tough on being cooked.
Handle the pastry as little as possible. Gluten free pastry is better with little handling.
Wrap any pastry you will not use in clingfilm and place in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Equipment Used:
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Spatula
Large bowl
20 cm deep tart tin
Ceramic balls
Medium saucepan.
