Is meringue the way to a mans heart? I am almost certain it might be. Almost every chap I have known seems to love meringue nearly as much as they love pies. This is a meringue pie that’s the slightly more exotic cousin of the lemon meringue variety. I take my inspiration from chocolate lime sweets I used to buy as a child by the quarter. You could make chocolate pastry but it’s a bit of a b*gger so if in doubt make this very well behaved pastry and then add chcolate curls to the rim of the pie once it’s cold. Much easier. (But if you do want to tackle naughty chocolate pastry then my Bake Off recipe is here.)
All comments gratefully received. I love reading them.
One year ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and Fleur de Sel cookies
Two years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
Chocolate lime meringue pie
Ingredients:
- 250g plain flour
- 50g icing sugar
- 125g butter cut into cubes
- 1 large egg
- 1 jar lime curd with some green food colouring mixed in if you like a really green lime pie
- 4 large egg whites
- 200g castor sugar
- 10g cornflour
- Chocolate curls to decorate
Mix the flour and icing sugar with the flat beater then add the butter and mix to breadcrumbs on speed 2. Add the egg and mix at 1 until pastry just coming together. Stop machine and pull together with hands. Then wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll out to the thickness of a pound coin and line a 20ish cm tart tin (mine is loose bottomed for easy removal later) and slip it under the pastry by pulling the pastry up from the work surface. (Of course feel free to transfer the pastry to your tin whichever way you prefer but this is mine.) Push the pastry into the edges of the tin and into the sides then run a rolling pin over the top of the tin. A very quick and easy way to trim the pastry. Pop the tin into the fridge for 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 180C, with one shelf in the middle of the oven. Bake blind with baking beans or dried rice lining some greaseproof paper for about 20 minutes. Remove the greaseproof paper and beans and bake again until the pastry is completely baked through. Then leave to cool.
Make the meringue by whisking the room temperature egg whites to medium peaks and then adding the castor sugar a teaspoon at a time – 30 second intervals between each teaspoon as this stops the meringue weeping in the oven by ensuring all the sugar dissolves. Add the cornflour. Whisk until at stiff peaks and very glossy and white. Preheat the oven to 180C and heat the lime filling in a saucepan. Add to the pastry case and then spoon/pipe the meringue over the top starting at the edges (making sure the pastry is touched by the meringue) and working inwards (or the filling will escape) then bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for about 1.5 hours before cutting and serving.
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