Lemon meringue pie with poached oranges and basil
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The classic lemon meringue pie recipe gets updated by Matthew Tomkinson to give it extra wow factor. Lemon cream provides a sumptuous alternative to lemon curd for this pie recipe. Prepare the ice cream and lemon cream ahead of time.
First published in 2015
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Lemon cream
- 2 lemons, juiced and zested
- 140g of caster sugar
- 425ml of double cream
- 1 bronze gelatine leaf
Lemon meringue pie topping
- 120g of caster sugar
- 1 tbsp of glucose syrup
- 1 tbsp of water
- 2 egg whites
Biscuit base
- 225g of butter
- 112g of caster sugar
- 340g of plain flour
Basil sorbet
- 50ml of glucose syrup
- 100ml of water
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 20g of basil leaves, finely chopped
Poached oranges
- 2 oranges, peeled
Stock sugar syrup
- 125g of caster sugar
- 125g of water
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- Blow torch
- Sugar thermometer
- Piping bag with star nozzle
- 4 small ring moulds
Method
1
To begin this lemon meringue pie recipe, start by making the stock syrup. You will need approximately 240ml of syrup for this recipe. Place the water and sugar in a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool
- 125g of caster sugar
- 125g of water
2
To make the basil sorbet, purée the basil in a food processor and set aside. Boil the glucose syrup, water and 50ml of the sugar syrup together in a pan. When cool, add the basil and lemon juice. Churn in an ice cream machine and freeze until ready to use
- 20g of basil leaves
- 100ml of water
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 50ml of glucose syrup
3
To make the biscuit base, preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas mark 4. Cream the butter and the sugar together and add the flour, mixing well until a dough has formed
- 225g of butter
- 112g of caster sugar
- 340g of plain flour
4
Roll the dough into a log the same diameter as the rings you will be setting the lemon cream in. Slice 4 discs from the log and place on a baking tray. Cook for 8 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool
5
To make the lemon cream, first line your moulds with cling film. Boil the lemon juice, cream and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the gelatine and pass through a fine sieve. Pour the mix into your moulds and set in the fridge
- 2 lemons
- 140g of caster sugar
- 425ml of double cream
- 1 bronze gelatine leaf
6
For the meringue, bring the water, glucose and sugar up to 120°C in pan. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Carefully pour the hot sugar mixture into the egg whites and whisk until cool. Place in a piping bag with a star nozzle
- 120g of caster sugar
- 1 tbsp of glucose syrup
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp of water
7
To make the poached oranges, cut the oranges into segments, making sure to remove all the pith and membrane. Boil 185ml of the sugar syrup in a pan, add the oranges and stir, then take off the heat
- 2 oranges
8
To serve, place a biscuit disc into the middle of a serving plate, top with a turned out lemon cream and then pipe ‘spikes’ of meringue on top
9
Glaze the meringue with a blow torch and surround with segments of the poached orange. Finish the lemon meringue pie with a small scoop of the basil sorbet and serve
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