Grown up lemon meringue pie is one of my best desserts and I love this recipe. It always felt very adult and very luxurious. My friends and I call it “LMP” and it has always been our favorite coffee shop treat.
In South Africa it is more common to find lemon meringue pies with a biscuit base rather than a pastry base. (graham crackers if you’re in the US).
For this recipe, I used Kellygold Butter, Ireland’s top quality butter brand. Their butter is made from the milk of free-roaming, grass-fed cows. Kelly Gold products do not contain any artificial additives and use only natural ingredients. It’s a dream to use for baking.
This recipe is my second recipe for Heritage Month. I browned the butter first to give it a nutty flavor, but that’s optional.
How to make Lemon Meringue Pie:
You only need 6 ingredients to make a lemon meringue pie. You can make the base and filling by hand, but I recommend using an electric whisk for the meringue.
To make the base, you’ll need biscuit (cookie) crumbs and melted butter. I like to use digestive biscuits, but Marie goes well with biscuits and graham crackers too. It’s easiest to grind these in a food processor, but otherwise they can be made by placing them in a ziplock bag and hitting them with a rolling pin.
The filling is made of egg yolk, condensed milk, lemon juice and zest.
The topping is an Italian meringue made with egg whites and sugar. Add half of the sugar directly to the whipped egg whites, and the other half to make the syrup that cooks the egg whites.
I like to bake the lemon filling separately from the meringue. Next, top the pie with the Italian meringue, ensuring a large, pillow-soft layer.
my best lemon meringue pie
My Best Lemon Meringue Pie with a biscuit (cookie) crumb base and Italian meringue topping.
- Preparation time: 20
- Cooking time: 25 minutes
- total time: 45 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- cooking: united states of america
Digestive or Marie Biscuits 300gm
150gm Kelly Gold Butter (melted or browned)
Separate 4 large free-range eggs
2 x 410 cans of condensed milk
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar (set aside)
Make the pie in advance and let it cool. He preheats the oven to 180C/350F.
Crush the biscuits in a food processor or by hand with a ziplock bag and rolling pin. Melt butter in a small pan and brown.
Mix crushed biscuits and melted butter in a bowl. Pour into a pie or tart mold with a width of about 26cm.squeeze the biscuit equally Coat the bottom and sides. Use glass to press down and compress.
Make the filling by hand. Place the egg yolk, condensed milk, lemon zest and juice in a bowl and mix well with a whisk.
Pour this into the biscuit base and bake for 25 minutes until set. Let cool, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Once it’s done, make the Italian meringue topping. Beat the egg whites using a stand or handheld electric beater. Make sure the bowl and whisk or squeak are clean.
When the egg white reaches a soft peak, slowly Add half a cup of granulated sugar. 1 tablespoon at a time until the meringue is glossy.
Put 3 tablespoons of water, the rest of the sugar and the cream of tarter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is bubbly. While the beaters are still running, slowly pour this hot syrup into the meringue mixture. Continue whipping the meringue for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Layer the meringue on top of the chilled lemon pie and torch the edges until browned (optional).
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Some other South African heritage recipes:
South African classic raw milk tart
Best buttermilk bran rusks.
Earl Gray Black Tea Milk Tart ~Baked Milk Tart~
Orange Aoi Pudding
Pear and ginger malva pudding
Mallow pudding with cranberries and ginger
Grandmother Betty’s Crunchy Recipe
easy peppermint crisp pudding
Traditional South African bobotie served with fragrant yellow rice
More Recipes Using Kellygold Butter & Cheese
Best cheese and onion quiche
my perfect cheese scone
*This article is sponsored by kelly gold
