Lemon Meringue Pie

Recently I've become totally obsessed with baking, and over the last few weeks I've watched every single episode of the Great British Bake Off! Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are very inspiring indeed. This is Mary Berry's Lemon Meringue Pie which was very successful and a big hit with my guests. The recipe called for using only 4 egg whites for the topping, but I used six egg whites and just made a big mountain of meringue! Who doesn't love meringue?
The dough recipe actually made more pastry than I needed, so I saved half of it and made a traditional egg custard tart the next day.

Pastry Base:
 1 3/4 C flour, plus some extra to dust
 1 1/4 sticks butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 C confectioners' sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 TBsp

Lemon Filling:
zest and juice of 6 lemons 
1/2 C corn starch
2 C water
1 1/4 C superfine sugar (or blitz granulated sugar for a few seconds in a food processor)
6 egg yolks

Topping:
6 egg whites
1 C superfine sugar
2 level tsp corn starch

(You need a 11" fluted removable-bottom tart pan.

 

Make the pastry:
Pulse the flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the confectioners' sugar, egg and water and pulse for a few seconds.
Remove the pieces of dough and roll them into a ball. Roll the dough out thinly so that it's just a bit bigger than the pan. Line it carefully with the pastry, cut off any excess and cover in Saran wrap. Chill for an hour or so. (I did experiment with leaving a little extra pastry hanging over the side of the tart pan and trimming it after the pie was cooked and had chilled for a little while.)

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line the pastry with parchment paper, and a cup or so of dried beans and bake blind for about 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and the beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the tart shell from the oven and allow to cool.

Make the filling:
In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice and the lemon zest with the corn starch until you have a smooth mixture.
Bring the two cups of water to a boil, and then add the lemon mixture. Be sure to keep stirring until the lemon filling begins to thicken.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Drizzle this into the lemon filling mixture and continue to cook over a medium heat until the sauce thickens. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes or so. 
Meanwhile to make the meringue, whisk the egg whites in a food mixer using the whisk attachment until the whites have stiff peaks. Slowly pour in the sugar, and continue whisking on high speed until the egg whites become thick and glossy. Carefully pour in the cornstarch and whisk into the egg whites.

Pour the cooled lemon filling into the cooled pastry shell. Then ladle on the meringue on top of the filling. Use a fork to add texture and peaks.
Bake for 30 minutes or so until the meringue is slightly golden brown.