Sunday Bake | Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie is Craig's favourite desert. So I've made it my mission to perfect the recipe. Pastry has always been my downfall, but after many a tart and pie coming out of my oven I think I've finally cracked it.

The last time I made this pie, my pastry leaked and my meringue was basically marshmallow; it wasn't my finest baking hour. This time around, everything seemed to work out okay. Its still not perfect, but third times the charm right?

I used Paul Hollywood's recipe, and if you see a picture of Paul's you'll know why!

Ingredients:

for the Pastry:
400g plain flour
1tsp salt
200g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
2tbsp caster sugar
100-125ml ice cold water
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk, for glazing

for the Lemon Curd Filling:
6 large lemons
230g caster sugar
pinch of salt
80g cornflour
12 medium egg yolks
230g unsalted butter, softened

for the Meringue:
6 medium egg whites
280g caster sugar
1tsp cornflour
1tsp lemon juice

Method:

Put the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse until it forms small chunks, just under the size of a pea.

Slowly add the water while pulsing the food processor until the pastry holds together when squeezed. Tip the dough onto the work surface and gently knead together. Flatten into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. Have a cuppa.

Roll out your pastry onto a lightly floured surface to a large round about 3mm thick. Use the pastry to line a 23cm tart tin, leaving the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Prick the base all over with a fork, then chill the pastry case for 30 minutes. Have a snack.

Heat your oven to 180C, line the pastry case with parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and baking beans, brush the pastry case with eggwash and return to the oven for a further 5-8 minutes until the pastry case is dry and the edges are just golden. Trim off the rough edges and set the pastry case aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 140C.

Next finely grate the zest of 2 lemons then mix this with the sugar, salt and cornflour in a saucepan. Squeeze the juice from all 6 lemons, strain into the saucepan and beat into the sugar mixture. Heat gently, stirring often, until thickened. This will take a while, but bear with it!

Take off the heat and beat in the egg yolks, then cook gently again, stirring until thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until melted. Pour the lemon filling into the baked pastry case.

For the meringue, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until they hold soft peaks. Now beat in the sugar, 1tbsp at a time. When all the sugar is incorporated, carry on beating for 3-4 minutes until the meringue is really glossy. Fold in the cornflour and lemon juice.

Spoon the meringue over the lemon filling in the tart - it will look billowy and cloud like!

Bake for about an hour, until the meringue topping is crisp and lightly golden. Leave to cool completely before serving (if you can!), dusted with icing sugar.
(adapted from Paul Hollywood's How To Bake)

This recipe is fairly long-winded, with the three main parts. But, it's totally worth it and looks so impressive. Once you have it mastered, its a great one to whip out for dinner parties or any social occasion!

Let me know if you try it! :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake | Cherry Pie

Ohhhh my, American Pie. Theres nothing that makes me feel more like a Southern housewife than whipping up something in my pie plate. This was my first attempt at a fruit pie though, as generally speaking I don't like cooked fruit. I wish I did though, and I thought cooked cherries might be a good way to try and change my taste buds!

I used Edd Kimber's recipe from Say it With Cake, which I've mentioned on here before - such a good book! It was a really good recipe too; really easy to follow and wasn't a faff at all. My biggest worry in making this was the pastry, I'm usually the worlds worst at pastry. If I were to ever go on Bake Off, pastry week would absolutely be my downfall. But for once, I actually succeeded!! SO happy!

So for those who want to imagine themselves in the mid-west popping round to the neighbours with a pie, here is the recipe:

Ingredients
- 200g caster sugar
- 800g pitted or frozen cherries (I used frozen - they're cheaper!)
- Zest and jucie of 1 lemon
- 45g cornflour
- 400g plain flour
- 1tsp salt
- 2tbsp caster sugar
- 200g unsalted butter (diced and chilled)
- 100-125ml ice-cold water
- 1 medium egg, beaten with 1tbsp water

Recipe
1. Put the sugar, 600g of the cherries and the lemon zest into a large pan over medium heat. Put the cornflour and lemon juice into a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. As the cherries begin to release their juice, add this paste to the pan and cook the cherries gently, stirring, until the juice comes to the boil. Cook, stirring, for a few more minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the reserved cherries. Set aside to cool while you make the pastry.

2. Put the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse until it forms small chunks, just under the size of a pea. Slowly add the water while pulsing the food processor until the pastry holds together when squeezed. Tip the dough onto the work surface and gently knead together. Divide into two balls, one a little larger than the other. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

3. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the larger piece of pastry, until it is large enough to line a 23cm pie plate. Gently roll the pastry around your rolling pin, and then drape it over the pie plate. Press the dough into the plate and then trim the excess leaving a 2.5cm overhang. Take the second piece of pastry and roll out as before. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the pastry into strips 2.5cm thick. Put the pie plate and the strips of pastry into the fridge for 15 minutes to let the pastry rest.

4. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6. Remove the pie plate and strips of pastry from the fridge and tip the filling into the prepared base. Brush the edge of the pie and the overhang with a little egg and water wash, and then lay half the pastry strips over the pie. I then laid the remaining half at a 90-degree angle from the first half, weaving them in and out. You can just lay them on top if you want a simpler look however. Then brush all strips with the egg and water wash.

5. To finish the pie, fold the pastry overhang so that it sits on the rim of the plate and covers the edges of the pastry strips. To crimp the pie, pinch together the thumb and forefinger of one hand against the edge of the pie crust and, using the index finger of the other, press the pastry together along the top edge to form a simple scallop. Scatter sugar over the lattice to create a caramelised golden finish. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
(recipe adapted from Say it with Cake by Edd Kimber)

Let me know if you try the recipe out! :)

Aimée
Xxxx

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Sunday Bake | White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Pie

Pie is back on the menu this Sunday Bake and I couldn't be happier. Yesterday, Katie and myself decided to have a day watching films and eating yummy food so obviously baking was going to be a part of that somehow! You may be confused when I say this pie is a White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut considering it looks veryy much like dark chocolate in the pictures above! It is actually the filling that's white chocolate and on top is a yummy dark chocolate ganache. 

The recipe is from the original Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and is actually really easy to make. Although, I would make sure you have a hand-whisk unless you want to kill your arms when whipping cream like we did! So on with the recipe! 

Ingredients:

Crust: 

- 110g Cold Unsalted Butter, Cubed

- 225g Plain Flour

- 80g Caster Sugar

- 1 Large Egg

Filling:

- 200g Cream Cheese 

- 80g Caster Sugar

- 200g White Chocolate, Chopped

- 1/2tsp Grated Orange Zest (We didn't actually include this, so I'd say its definitely optional!)

- 80g Macadamia Nuts, Roasted and Chopped

- 80ml Double Cream 

Topping:

- 125ml Double Cream

- 110g Dark Chocolate, Chopped

- Handful of Macadamia Nuts for decoration 

Method:

1. Using your hands rub together the butter and flour until a fine crumb consistency is formed, then add the caster sugar and mix together. Add the egg and mix until a dough starts to form. 

2. Turn the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together by hand until smooth and even. Form into a ball and flatten slightly, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. 

3. Roll the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick then place into your pie dish, trimming off any excess. Then place back into the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 170C, Gas Mark 3. 

4. Bake the pastry blind, by lining the pie crust loosely with baking parchment and adding baking beans, for 10 minutes. Then remove the beans and continue to bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the crust is an even golden brown colour. Allow to cool before adding the filling.

5. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth then melt the white chocolate over a pan of simmering water and add to the cream cheese mixture, mixing thoroughly. Add the orange zest and chopped nuts and stir to incorporate evenly throughout the mix. 

6. Whip the double cream until soft peaks form, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the mixture into the baked pie crust, spreading it out evenly. Then cover with clingfilm and place in the freezer until frozen - about an hour. 

7. To make the ganache topping, heat the cream over a gentle heat and then pour over the chopped dark chocolate. Continuously stir until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture has tuned smooth and glossy. Pour this over the frozen pie, spreading out evenly and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to set.

8. Finally, add the chopped macadamia nuts to serve! 

So there we have it! A reallyy tasty pie, that looks impressive whilst not being tricky to make at all! It's not too sweet either making it all the more easier to eat another slice....;) 

Aimée

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