LEMON MERINGUE PIE...The Great Dessert Cookbook

Lemon meringue pie is a 19th century product (so I was told). Since then, the recipe has spread and many variations have been produced. The combination of the sourness in the pie filling and the meringue topping is simply perfect.
This pie I made was divine. Wonderful sweet, sour filling with crispy and flaky crust holding it in. But my other half would prefer it to be less sweet (so I guess, you can reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup). Lemons are quite expensive here and they are not easy to be found at the local market (in fact, there were none at the market). So I had to go the supermarket and each costed me RM1. Earlier I thought of replacing the lemons with lime but on second thoughts, I fear that that it may affect the taste. Luckily, a friend told me not to replace the juice of lemon called for in this recipe (or any other recipe) with that of a lime, because limes contain more acid than lemons, thus, they are more sour. Thank God I didnt.

Recipe:

Pastry:

2 cups plain flour 1 tbsp lemon juice

pinch salt 185g (6oz) butter

1 tbsp icing sugar 1-2 tbsp water

Sift flour, salt and icing sugar into basin; chop butter roughly, add to dry ingredients, rub in thoroughly. Add lemon juice and sufficient water to combine ingredients. Press dough to form a smooth ball, refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll dough on lightly floured surface until large enough to fit 20/23 cm (8/9 inch) pie plate. Press pastry frimly down into plate, do not strect pastry, as this could cause shrinking during baking. Trim edges from pastry, pinch frill decoratively round edge of pastry with fingers. Prick base and sides of pastry thoroughly with a fork. This will stop pastry rising during cooking.

Bake in moderately hot oven (375F/190C), or until golden brown. Set aside until cold.

Lemon Filling:

4 tbsp plain flour 90g (3 oz) butter

4 tbsp cornflour 1 tbsp grated lemon rind

3/4 cup lemon juice 1 cup sugar

4 egg yolks 1 1/4 cups water

Combine sugar and sifted flours in saucepan. Stir in combined lemon juice and water gradually; add lemon rind. Place over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture boils and thickens. It is important that the mixture boils. Reduce heat, stir for further 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter and lightly-beaten egg yolks; stir, off heat, until butter is melted, set aside until cold.

Meringue:

4 egg whites pinch salt

2 tbsp water 3/4 cup castor sugar

Combine egg whites, water and salt in small basin of electric mixer, beat on high speed until soft peaks form; gradually add sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved.

Assembling pie:

Spread cold lemon filling into cold pastry case, top with meringue. Spread meringue to edge of pastry case to form a complete seal. Bake in moderate oven 5 to 10 minues, or until lightly browned. Cool; refrigerate for one hour before serving.

Note: 1 hour in the refrigerator is sufficient to set the filling firmly to ensure that it cuts well. Meringue toppings on pies do not take kindly to excess refrigeration and are inclined to 'weep' if left too long in the refrigerator.

Note: Before cutting the pie, dip the knife blade into hot water, or run it under the hot-water tap. This will ensure that the meringue cuts perfectly without pulling or clinging to the knife.