Gluten Free Lemon 🍋 Meringue Pie

I decided to challenge myself over the weekend and get my bake on!

My hubby has coeliac disease and loves pies, but frankly ready made gluten free pies are overpriced for the tiny potions you get. He has a fondness for lemon desserts so I decided to treat him to his favourite dessert….Lemon Meringue Pie.

Now pastry is not my forte, and I find working with gluten free dough tricky. It can be very sticky and all. Anyway it’s time to crack on!

I decided to follow a recipe from Waitrose and substitute plain flour for gluten free flour.

Gluten Free lemon meringue pie

Preparation time:40 minutes plus 1 hour chilling

Cooking time:35 minutes

Total time:2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the pastry:

200g gluten free plain flour
100g unsalted butter, fridge cold
30g icing sugar
1 medium egg, beaten
4 tbsp ice cold water

For the filling:

75g cornflour
200g golden caster sugar
6 unwaxed lemons, juiced and zested
50g butter
4 large egg yolks, reserving the whites for the meringue

For the meringue:

4 large egg whites
200g golden caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour

Method

1. Preheat oven 200°C, gas mark 6. Preheat a flat baking sheet.

2. Place the flour and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse together until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar, beaten egg and one tablespoon of the cold water and pulse again. Add the remaining water and pulse until combined into a ball. Leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.

3. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 3mm thickness. Use the rolling pin to lift the pastry up and transfer it to line a 23cm x 4 cm deep loose bottomed, straight-sided tart tin. Press gently into the corners and leave untrimmed. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. Take the pastry-lined tin out of the fridge, line the pastry with parchment and fill with baking beans. Place on top of the preheated baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then remove the beans and parchment and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

5. For the filling, mix the cornflour, sugar and lemon zest in a medium pan, blend in 350ml cold water and the lemon juice, strained through a sieve to remove the pulp and pips. Cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth (about 4 minutes). Remove from the heat and beat in the butter until melted, followed by the egg yolks. Return to a medium heat, keep stirring vigorously for a few minutes, until the mixture thickens and bubbles, then set aside to cool while the meringue is made.

6. Put the egg whites in a large bowl, beat with an electric whisk or stand mixer until stiff, add the sugar and cornflower slowly. Keep whisking until thick and glossy.

7. Trim the pastry base and fill with the lemon curd. Top with meringue, starting at the edges and working in.

8. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes until crisp and golden. Leave to cool completely.

I made the dough using my trusty Kenwood Chef Sense

My little mama decided to help roll the pastry.

Making the filling was easy and I’m glad it came out well

Meringue can be tricky to make but the Kenwood Chef sense makes it so easy. A tip I learned from Miranda Gore-Browne is to wipe the inside of the mixing bowl with the cut side of a lemon.

I have to say I’m so pleased with the results 🙂

Tip: Let the pie sit in the tin for 30 mins, then remove. Don’t cut it before it is completely cool. If you cut it before it is completely cool, the lemon curd will ooze and the meringue could collapse. Leave for at least another 1-2 hours before slicing.