Lemon Meringue Pie

Once I decided to invite some friends over and I wanted to offer them something sweet, so I found this lemon meringue pie recipe. My guests really liked it and actually asked me to share the recipe on my blog. The pie is very light and tender, with a delicate and pleasant lemon scent. The recipe was taken from pirkka.fi.

Ingredients (for 10 portions):

Pastry:
 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
7 tbsp (100 g) soft butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
 

Lemon filling:
 

1 2/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp corn starch (Maizena)
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 zest of a lemon
1 tbsp butter or margarine
 

Meringue:
 

4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

To make the base: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Squish the softened butter into smaller pieces and mix together with flour and sugar. Add the egg yolk and mix until the dough has an even texture. 

Press the dough to the bottom and the edges of a round baking pan inch (24 cm) in diameter. 

Pour some beans or peas on top of the dough in order for the dough not to rise. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

To make the lemon filling: In a medium saucepan combine all the ingredients required for the lemon filling except for the butter. Let the mixture simmer until it slightly thickens. Mix at all times. Add the butter and mix. Pour the cooled filling on the base.

To make the meringue: In a large clean and dry bowl beat the egg whites until firm peaks. Slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat the egg whites, until the foam turns soft and shiny. Using a spatula place the foam on top of the lemon filling. Use a spoon to push the foam on the edges of the dough base as well. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake the cake for about 12 minutes, until the meringue turns light brown. Be careful not to over brown the top. Cool and serve the lemon meringue cake the same day.

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