Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Recipe : Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients :

Pastry -

1 1/2 cups white plain flour

2 tbsp castor sugar

1 1/2 tbsp custard powder

30g reduced fat butter, chopped into pieces

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice

Filling -

1 1/2 cups water

rind of 4 lemons, coarsely grated

1 cup lemon juice (5 or 6 lemons)

100g castor sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

5 tbsp cornflour

Meringue -

5 egg whites

pinch of cream of tartar

1/3 cup castor sugar

2/3 cup Splenda artificial sweetener powder

Method :

Firstly, prepare the lemon for the filling. Put the lemon rind and the water into a stainless steel saucepan. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Cover the saucepan and let the mixture soak for as long as possible (at least 1 hour).

Pastry -

Sift the flour, sugar and custard powder into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it disappears into the flour - the mixture will resemble coarse breadcrumbs.

Mix the milk, water and lemon juice together and gradually add to the flour. Mix in with your fingertips until the dough holds together and can be pressed into a large ball. Wrap ball of dough in plastic food wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200C.

When chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 3mm thick and large enough to cover the base and sides of a 23cm pie plate (lightly sprayed with vegetable oil spray).

Press gently into plate, trim edges and lightly prick the pastry base and sides with a fork. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until just cooked and very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Filling -

Remove the lemon rind from the water, reserving all of the water. Add 3/4 of the lemon juice to the water. Mix the remaining lemon juice with the cornflour to form a smooth cream, and then add this to the water also. Stir continuously and bring mixture to the boil - turn heat down and summer for another 4 minutes. Keep stirring.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the castor sugar and the egg yolk. Mix well and pour lemon mixture into baked pastry case.

Meringue -

Sift the artificial sweetener and the castor sugar into a bowl together. In another bowl beat the egg whites until they are just stiff. Add the cream of tartar. Gradually beat in the combined sugars, a little at a time, until mixture is stiff and shiny.

Spread meringue over the top of the lemon mixture and bake at 200C for 5-6 minutes or until the meringue just begins to turn light brown.

Tip - The pastry dough can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days wrapped in plastic food wrap.

Serves 12

Per Serve -

Fat - 2.1g (normally 20g fat per serve)

Kilojoules - 605

Calories - 144

Carbohydrates - 35.5g

Protein - 3.7g

Fiber - 0.6g

Here is the recipe with most of the fat taken out, but that wonderful tangy taste and sweet meringue is as good as ever !

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