Classic Lemon Meringue
Classic Lemon Meringue is a perfect balance of sweet and sour tastes. Sharp zesty lemon custard cut with sweet meringue.
The three component’s are the base, the custard and the meringue topping.
The buttery flaky base is the perfect vessel to hold the lemon custard. The sharp custard is tamed with the sweetness and delicacy of the Italian meringue top.
LEMON MERINGUE INGREDIENTS
- DESSERT PIE CRUST: Shop bought will do or if you are planning ahead, make your own using my all butter pie crust recipe. This crust can be made a day or two in advance.
- LEMONS: Lemon juice and zest is needed to create a lemon zing of the custard filling.
- MILK: Full fat milk helps to dissolve the sugar into a syrup.
- BUTTER: Enriches the custard, adds a gloss and helps the custard thicken.
- CASTER SUGAR: Back-sweetens the sharpness of the lemon juice and zest.
- EGGS: Gives the custard body. Free range, organic egg yokes are best for flavour and colour.
- CORNFLOUR: Cornflour is the thickening agent in the custard.
- ITALIAN MERINGUE: This is the most stable of meringues and can be easily created by following my recipe for Easy Italian Meringue.
RECIPE
Classic Lemon Meringue
Buttery flaky base, sharp lemon custard and a light Italian meringue topping make up this classic lemon meringue.
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 175 g plain flour
- 100 g cold butter cubed
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 egg yokes
Lemon set custard
- 350 ml milk
- 300 g caster sugar
- 177 ml lemon juice
- 100 g butter
- 70 g cornflour
- 6 egg yokes
- Zest of 2-3 lemons
- Pinch salt
Italian Meringue
- 340 g caster sugar
- 170 g water
- 140 ml egg whites (4 egg whites approx.)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
Pie crust
- Follow the link in "Notes" below for my all butter pie crust, instruction and tips.
Lemon Set Custard
- In a saucepan over a low heat, dissolve the sugar into 236 ml of the milk.
- Mix the cornflour with the remainder of the milk until smooth and add to the milk syrup.
- Add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and egg yokes while continually whisking until all is incorporated.
- As the custard warms, it will thicken. When the custard has thickened to a jam consistency, pour it into the pie crust base and cover with clingfilm. This prevents a skin developing on the custard. Once set, the clingfilm can be easily removed from the set custard.
Italian Meringue
- Follow the link in "Notes" below for my Italian Meringue recipe, instruction and tips.