Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie

In my experience, gluten free pastry can be a bit of a pain when it comes to rolling out; it falls apart or it tastes like cardboard when it has been cooked but trust me when I tell you this recipe is great. The pastry is a pleasure to roll out and it tastes delicious! And you don’t need different types of flours that you might not have in your cupboard; just gluten free plain flour. Lemon meringue pie has always been a favourite of mine and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 6 oz gluten free plain flour
• ¾ tsp xanthum gum
• 3½ oz Vitalite (or margarine/butter if you don’t need lactose free)
• 1 egg, beaten

For the lemon curd:

• 1 oz Vitalite
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 oz sugar
• Juice and rind of two lemons
• 2 egg yolks

For the meringue:

• 2 egg whites
• 3 oz sugar

For my lemon meringue pie I used a round 9 inch/23cm dish.

For the pastry; pre-heat the oven to 180 C/gas mark 4 then sift the plain flour, xanthum gum and a pinch of salt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Put the Vitalite into the bowl and use your hands to rub the butter into the flour until it is all mixed in.

Next, add the beaten egg to the mixture and use a table knife to stir it in. You may also need a little cold water to make the mixture stick together.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes just to get it lovely and soft and smooth which will make it easier to roll out. Roll the pastry out gently so that it doesn’t break apart; then place it gently over your rolling pin and transfer it to your pie dish. Cut off the excess bits of pastry if there are any over the top of the dish. Use a fork to make several holes into the base of the pastry case to let out any air during cooking.

Place it in the oven for about ten minutes, until it is golden brown.

Now it is time to make the lemon curd filling. For this you need to put the Vitalite, cornflour and sugar into a small saucepan. Then take the lemon juice and pour it into a jug; make it up to 1/2 pint with cold water and then pour it into the saucepan. Place the saucepan over a gentle heat and stir it constantly. When the liquid starts to boil, which will take a few minutes, let the mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes then remove it from the heat. The mixture needs to cool down a little before you put the egg yolks in.

While the mixture is cooling, you can make the meringue. Place the 2 egg whites into a bowl and use an electric mixer to whisk them until they become white and fluffy. Then add half of the sugar and whisk it again until you can form stiff peaks with the back of a spoon. When the meringue has reached this consistency add the rest of the sugar and fold it in gently using a spoon.

When the lemon curd filling has cooled down a little, mix in the two egg yolks with a spoon and spread it over the pastry base.

Then, add the meringue and spread it gently over the filling. Use the back of a spoon to gently lift the meringue up and form little peaks.

Place it in the oven, again on gas mark 4/ 180 C, and cook for about ten minutes or until the meringue has turned golden brown-be careful that the peaks of the meringue don’t burn! When it has cooked, take it out of the oven and enjoy your lemon meringue pie either hot or cold!