LEMON MERINGUE PIE

This lemon meringue pie recipe is a great old recipe from a school recipe book! Never fails and well worth it. I am all about easy recipes and lemon meringue pie made this way is both easy and delicious and will even impress your mother in law! Lemon meringue pies have been known to make me susceptible to all sorts of persuasion, so if you need to persuade someone to do something for you, its quite simple make them a lemon meringue pie! What you need packet tennis biscuits 75 mls melted butter 1 tin of condensed milk Zest of 2 lemons 100 ml lemon juice 4 egg yolks 2 egg whites 75 ml castor sugar The process Crush the biscuits, melt the butter in a mixing jug in the microwave (just makes it a little quicker and less messy) Add the biscuit crumbs to the butter and mix well. Line the bottom of the pie dish with the biscuit crumbs and chill in the fridge. Mix the condensed milk, juice and rind of lemon and egg yolks together and pour onto the pie shell. Beat the egg whites until stiff add the castor sugar slowly and mix and when thick and full spread on top of the filling. Bake for 20-30 mins at 160C until meringue is light brown. Dont wait until its cool, leave it for a few minutes if you can and dig in, Its really great.

For something really simple and special as a cold dessert try the easy lemon flan recipe. Its from a famous Johannesburg restaurant and takes just 15 minutes to make.

LEMON FLAN FROM GATRILLES

For those of you who remember that fabulous restaurant in JHB called Gatrilles Son & Co and experienced the sheer joy of tasting their very popular lemon flan, you will be thanking me forever when you read how simple and tasty this recipe is. Its a real South African recipe that uses Marie biscuits in its base. I got it from a recipe book my mother put together many years ago and the recipe appeared in a magazine, have no idea which one but from the cutting looks like YOU mag or something similar. Give this one a try, you will be very pleased indeed! Its a 15 minute preparation from start to finsish but does need about 2 hours in the fridge before you serve. What you need 1 Tin sweetened condensed milk (397g) 250 ml whipping cream Juice of 4 large lemons 1/2 packet Marie biscuits 80 ml melted butter 20cm round flan dish or cake tin. The process First off, crush the half packet of Marie biscuits until quite fine by placing them in a packet and use a rolling pin or empty bottle to crush them up. Then melt butter and add the crushed Marie biscuits, stir them until all of the crushed biscuits are coated with butter and then press into the base and sides of the dish firmly. Pop it in the fridge while you prepare the filling. In a large bowl, whip the cream to soft peak stage and then add the condensed milk. Mix well with a metal spoon to combine the cream and condensed milk evenly.

Lastly stir in the lemon juice and give it another good mix. Get you shell from the fridge and pour in the lemon mixture, return to fridge for another 2 hours before serving. Its seriously simple and very delicious just does not get any easier than that, my kind of recipe! Before serving you can finely grate a little lemon rind(or not) and serve with a nice dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. Happy New Year Another great recipe is the lemon meringue pie recipe I have been asked a few times about using Tennis biscuits in the base and yes you can, it is just as good but the Marie biscuits make a base that is easier to serve, the tennis biscuits tend to crumble. LEMON MERINGUE CUPCAKES Martha Stewart

Tender lemon buttermilk cake, tart lemon curd, and a lightly browned peak of seven- minute frosting combine in cupcakes inspired by Martha's mile-high lemon meringue pie -- one of her signature desserts. Martha Stewart Cupcakes, May 2009

Yield Makes 24

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs, room temperature Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk

Lemon Curd Seven-Minute Frosting

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each. 3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers. 4. To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

LEMON CURD Martha Stewart Ingredients

8 large egg yolks Finely grated zest of 2 lemons 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons) 1 cup sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Directions 1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. 2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

SEVEN-MINUTE FROSTING Martha Stewart Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2/3 cup water 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 6 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions 1. Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees. 2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine. 3. As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.