Lemon Meringue Pie

Make the pie crust. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, a pinch of salt, the confectioner’s sugar, 100g cold unsalted butter and 2 egg yolks. Keep the egg whites as you will need them to make the meringue topping.

Wash and cut the lemons in half and juice them. You should get about 200ml juice out of 3 or 4 lemons. You can use a juicer attachment if your food processor has one, or juice the lemons any other way. If you end up with slightly less lemon juice, you can add a small amount of water.

Knead out the dough. If you are using a food processor with a juicing attachment, you can do this at the same time as juicing the lemons. If the dough is a little dry, add about 2 tbsp cold water. Once the dough is smooth and pliable, roll it out into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Leave it to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Once the dough has cooled off, place it between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to about 4mm thickness. Mix the granulated gelatin in about 35ml cold water.

Carefully lower the dough into a baking dish and gently press it down. I used a 26cm baking dish. Trim the overhanging dough with a knife.

Poke the bottom of the crust in several places with the tines of a fork to keep it from bubbling up and let it cool down in the fridge for another half hour. While it is resting in the fridge, preheat the oven to 180C. Once the dough has cooled completely, bake it for 15-20 minutes. Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine 4 eggs, 2 egg yolks and 120g granulated sugar. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.

Pour the lemon juice into a saucepan and heat it until it reaches a temperature of about 70C or starts steaming a little.

Carefully drizzle the hot lemon juice into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth.

Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until it boils and thickens to a yogurt-like consistency.

Take the saucepan off the heat and mix in the bloomed gelatine. Whisk well so that the gelatine dissolves completely.

Add in 125g unsalted butter and whisk once more, until the butter dissolves completely and the curd reaches a smooth consistency. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents skin from forming on top.) Let cool to room temperature.

Pour the curd into the pre-baked pie crust and place into the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Take the 4 egg whites left over from the dough and the lemon curd and transfer them into a heatproof bowl. Mix in 250g granulated sugar and place the bowl onto a double boiler. Whisking constantly, heat until the mixture is hot – it should register about 50-55C.

Take the meringue mixture off the heat and beat to stiff peaks with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or handheld mixer. It should take you about 5 to 10 minutes. Spread meringue on top of curd filling. Use the back of a spoon to form decorative peaks on the meringue topping. Bake the pie for about 3-5 minutes, until the peaks brown slightly. If you have a broiler, it is best to use one. But be careful not to burn the meringue!