Photography: Alan Jensen | styling: Michele Cranston | food preparation: Kathy Knudsen)
This simple coconut lemon meringue pie will be ready in 30 minutes, making it the perfect last-minute dessert to impress.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan forced. Lightly grease an 18cm (1 litre-capacity) pie dish. Put on a baking tray. Put milk, coconut, butter, vanilla, lemon zest, egg, flour, sugar and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides if necessary.
Pour mixture into prepared dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until set. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, for meringue, put sugar, water and cream of tartar in a saucepan on low, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil on high. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. With motor running, add hot sugar syrup in a thin steady stream and whisk for 1–2 minutes or until thick and glossy.
Dollop meringue over pie. Using a kitchen blowtorch, torch until lightly golden. (Alternatively, put under a hot grill for 30 seconds -1 minute). Serve.
What is the liquid at the bottom of the lemon meringue pie?
If you have liquid at the base of your pie, that could mean that you have overbaked the meringue. Overbaking causes the egg whites to shrink and it releases small drops of moisture.
How do you keep lemon meringue pie from getting watery?
If you beat thickened cornstarch and water into the egg whites, it will better bind and stabilise the liquid in the meringue, keeping it thick.
How do you keep a lemon meringue pie crust from getting soggy?
The key is to blind bake the pastry crust first, then add the filling. This will stop it from going soggy.
