Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Lemon, Meringue, Pie..........................whats not to like? I've made this a few occasions but never as individual pies. They are super cute and perfect for any occasion, or if you're anything like me, a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea. These were gone in no time in my house. I think its because you kinda have to have two....as my sister said "ill just have another one....just to be sure they're nice!" suuuure.

You would think by the look of these pies that they're going to be dense and heavy. Its the complete opposite, they are so light and airy. The lemon curd is refreshing and smooth, it has just enough lemon zing and sweetness. In other words its not going make your eyes squint and cheeks suck in (yes we've all been there) on your first bite.

I piped the meringue using my Wilton 1M tip but if you want to glob it on forming peaks by all means do. I just liked the ice-cream effect it gave!

Recipe For Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Makes 12-15

Ingredients

 

Pastry

•  330g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 175g cold butter, cut into small pieces

Lemon filling 

•  300g caster sugar
• 100g cornflour
• 120ml lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
• 4 large egg yolks
• a pinch of salt
• freshly grated zest of 2 lemons, unwaxed if you can
• 60g butter

 Meringue 

• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 4 large egg whites

 

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the caster sugar and combine. Add the butter and mix on high speed until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs this will take literally seconds. You can also rub it in using your fingertips until you get breadcrumb like consistency. Add 4-6 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together to form a ball. Wrap the dough in cling film and flatten out. Place it in the fridge to rest for approx 30mins.
2. For the lemon filling, place the sugar, cornflour and 450ml of water in a large saucepan and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the lemon juice, egg yolks and salt. Bring to the boil and continue stirring for approx 10 mins, this can become a bit of a workout! Stir in your lemon zest and butter, stir until butter is melted,remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and flour the muffin trays.Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface about 3mm thick. Cut out desired shaped for pastry. I cut mine into rectangles as to get uneven chunky sides, it also holds more curd than a perfectly rounded pastry but do as you wish. Press each rectangle into your muffin tray and prick the base with a fork. Place in oven for approx 10 mins. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.Reduce oven to 170°C.
4. For the meringue, in a mixer or a hand-held mixer, whisk the icing sugar and egg whites together on high for 10 minutes until stiff glossy peaks form. These peaks should be able to stand on their own when whisk is removed without collapsing. Fill piping bag and pipe, if desired or go for a big glob raising some peaks using a fork. Bake in oven for 10-15 mins. The meringue should turn a light pinky/brown colour. Don't be alarmed if you get some darkened bits, it will just be extra crunch!
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool.........this is torture to some folks I know but really try! They are sooo much better cool!

Hope everyone has a great bank holiday or happy Monday wherever you are popping by from!

Shirley x