our Lemon Meringue Pie has three layers and we will start with a biscuit base

then we are going to make a homemade lemon curd, thats with lemons, cornflour, eggs and sugar

and then with finish it meringue as well

to start with we are going to work from the bottom up so we'll do our biscuit base first

crack all of those into there

use what ever you find easiest, we just want a fine breadcrumb

meanwhile the butter which will help it all stick together at the end

goes into the microwave to melt

it's quite therapeutic this bit

very therapeutic

now what we are going to set this in is our cake tin,

it's non-stick with a loose bottom

because later on we'll pull the whole thing out nice and easy

and then our butter goes in, if you can stir all of that through

and make sure all of those crumbs are coated because that is what is going to hold it all together later

looking good now throw it al into there

what happens if...

you haven't got a tin with a loose bottom

it just means it is more difficult to get out at the end

you might have to take one slice out at a time

or you could do small individual ones, little ramekins

you wont be able to see the layers but when you dig you discover them

use what ever you have to hand really

and then with the back of a spoon just pack it down

aim for the thickness of your finger

then the same with lemon curd

and then the same with the meringue

now let's concentrate on our lemon curd okay, you could just buy it but we are going to show how easy it is to make one

zest in...

two lemons, lemon curd is a very sharp lemon mixture set with eggs and cornflour

curd is the process so you could make a lime curd, mango curd or a passionfruit curd

this is a

traditional lemon curd

and then

we need all the juice as well

squeeze it through your fingertips, you want all of that juice out of there This is a lot of lemon!

well you want it really sharp, think about how sweet the meringue is

you'll need that sharpness to cut through and balance it

that's why your

ratios are very important

if you can crack in both eggs

then whisk

and too it we can add our sugar

and some cold butter from the fridge

but also a little cornflour so if you can whisk that in there as well

What does corn flour do? its a thickening agent, so it thickens it

so when it is cool you can cut a slice out of it, keep stirring until it comes to a simmer

and when it starts to get really thick you can swap to a wooden spoon

just to get into all those corners and make sure nothing is sticking. As soon as you have the consistency you have there

and its been bubbling away now for about a minute.... see it's nice and thick

then we pour the whole thing over our biscuit base

so its not particularly thick but you saw how much lemon we put into it, so it is very very sharp

it then needs to go into a fridge to set up,

it'll need a couple of hours until it completely sets

and then we can do our final layer.

now that our curd has set we can concentrate on the meringue part of our

Lemon Meringue Pie

so, three eggs, all you need to do is just crack them in there, with the whites in one and the yolks in the other

make sure you have a clean bowl and no greasy fingers

beautiful

ill tell you what

practice does make perfect

and if i do say so myself... i am perfection

there you go

so you need to whip this up, you could do it by hand or you can use our clever machine

and while Barry is whisking up that we can look at our pie

now that it is set, all you need to do is lift it out

look at that

we'll stick it straight on a board

how are we doing with our stiff peaks? Perfect

we'll now make it sweet

by adding in our caster sugar, because and the moment it is just egg white

this is what makes it into the meringue

look at that, effortless meringue

from here you put it into a piping bag

lets finish the dessert with some finesse

if i pipe do you want to burn? YES!!!!

thought so

does this involve a flamethrower?? it does yes.

pipe our meringue

around our lemon

neat piping

and then do it in rings

that looks amazing!

turn the gas on then do that... Wo!

and then from a distance

nice an gentle

caramelise around the top but you don't wont to burn it,

you want the sweet golden colour!

as the sugars caramelise

once it starts to go it doesn't take much

and if you haven't got one of these?

under a really hot grill, a very very very hot grill. Pop it under and it'll do the same job

look at that! Turn it off!

so there it is, three layers, a buttery biscuit base , a lemon curd

and the meringue

its our lemon meringue pie... SORTED

It should cut pretty nicely, look at that

that is meringue pie

sharp, sweet, crunch! That is incredible, and i know why your here now. What?! I thoght i'd come have a look...

good work! dont forget we have loads of recipes at sortedfood.com

and we would love to see your photos, so upload them.... Ahhhh No

that went right up my nose!

not over our pie

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we love seeing your lemon meringue pie moments