Week six of The Great British Bake Off saw the brand new theme; Botanical week. We saw the bakers make things that involved citrus, herbs and floral flavours.
They were challenged to make citrus meringue pies for the signature bake, fougasse – a type of bread that looked almost like one of my favourite breads; focaccia, for the technical and a floral cake for the show stopper.
For my bake along recipe I decided to have a go at a signature bake for a change and baked a delicious lemon meringue pie.
To make this you will need the following ingredients:
For the sweet shortcrust pastry:
250g Plain flour
100g Icing sugar
Pinch of salt
150g Cold Unsalted butter, grated
2 Egg yolks
1 Large egg
Plus make up an egg wash with 1 egg yolk beaten with 25ml milk
For the filling:
1 405g can of light condensed milk
Juice of 3 lemons
2 egg yolks
For the meringue topping:
4 egg whites
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
Method:
1) Start off by making your pastry. Sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl
2) Add the cold grated butter and work into the dry ingredients using your hands to rub the mixture together until it resembles bread crumbs
3) Whisk the egg and 2 egg yolks and add to the mix
4) Use a pallet knife to bring the mixture together to form a ball of dough (be careful not to over mix otherwise you’ll end up with tough dough)
5) Dust your hands and the ball of dough with plain flour and carefully remove from the bowl. Gently pat the dough to form a smooth ball and wrap in clingfilm
6) Refridgerate the dough overnight or for at least an hour. If leaving overnight, remove from the fridge at least an hour before you need to roll it out.
7) Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm thickness and 4cm larger than your tart tin/dish. Place in a 23cm tart tin or dish, allow the pastry to hang over the edge of the dish and trim away the excess. Chill in the fridge for an hour to avoid shrinkage when it’s baking.
8) Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 6
9) Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge, line with baking paper or foil, or foil lined baking paper which is even better! Place pie weights on top of this and blind bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and remove the lining along with the pie weights. Prick the base with a fork and brush with the egg wash to seal then return to the oven for 2 minutes to crispen up. Once baked, allow to cool in the tin or dish then remove and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
10) While the pastry case is cooling, make the lemon filling. Use a free standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl using a handheld electric whisk, mix the condensed milk while adding lemon juice a bit at a time. Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl, then add to the condensed milk mixture and mix well.
11) Reduce the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Place the cooled pastry case on a baking sheet and pour the lemon mixture into the pan, then bake for 10 minutes until set.
12) While the filling is baking, use a clean dry bowl to whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add sugar a little bit at a time, whisking continuously until the mixture is thick and glossy.
13) Add vanilla and lemon juice and fold into meringue mixture using a large metal spoon.
14) Remove the filled pastry case from the oven and spoon the meringue in mounds on top of the baked lemon filing and use a spoon or pallet knife to swirl on top.
15) Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2 and bake the lemon meringue pie for 20-30 minutes, keep an eye on it as you want to remove from the oven when pale and golden. You want the top to be lightly crisp and the meringue underneath should be light and airy.
Slice, serve and enjoy!
Next week is dessert week! I love desserts so can’t wait to see what the bakers whip up in the tent next Wednesday!
In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying my bake along series and now that the weather has turned rainy and cooler it’s the perfect opportunity to stay in and bake up some delicious treats to enjoy alongside warming beverages like a big mug of hot chocolate!
Happy baking! x x
