Lemon meringue pie...

I was always quite apprehensive to make this humble wee pie. Its main component, lemon curd.. always managed to turn good intentions into a baking fiasco... knocking my confidence with its ever so stubborn, runny consistency.
Last week, we had a few friends around for dinner, and  
eager to conquer this dessert classic, I settled on making a Lemon Meringue Pie.

I began with the sweet short pastry...

225g flour
125g butter (chilled and cubed)
Pinch salt
25g icing sugar (or castor)
1 egg yolk
Cold water to mix

Combine flour and sugar with a whisk. Work in the butter using your finger tips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add yolk and the cold water a tablespoon at a time, mixing to a stiff dough. You shouldn't need more than 3 tablespoons. Shape dough into a flat disc and leave in refrigerator for at least half an hour.

I set my oven to 200 C and with a great deal of optimism and clear instructions, I set to work on the filling...

2 tbsp cornflour
100g castor sugar
zest of 2 lemons
125ml lemon juice
200ml water
85g butter
3 yolks & 1 whole egg (beaten)

*Make sure to keep the whites for later!

Once ovens at 200 C, roll out and blind bake pastry for 10 - 12 minutes, remove blind baking material and put back in for a further 5 - 7 minutes.

Combine flour, sugar and zest in saucepan with a whisk. Add the water and juice to pan and simmer on medium heat. Once thick and smooth, add your butter and beaten eggs. Stir vigorously until thick, smooth, glossy and so on!

Keep curd in saucepan until your meringue is good to go. Set oven to 180 C...

4 egg whites (room temperature)
100g castor sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
dash of vinegar or lemon juice

Beat whites until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted out of bowl.
Add half the sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Beat just enough to dissolve the sugar.
Add the cornflour, rest of the sugar and vinegar or lemon juice. Once glossy and thick enough to hold shape, stop beating or your meringue could go beyond the point of repair!

Put your curd back on the heat, give it a quick whisk and pour into the pastry case. Now you can pipe or simply plop your meringue atop and finish with some fancy looking flicks and swirls.

In the oven at 180 C for 18-20 minutes... take out when the meringue looks like the impressive pictures we've all seen before... back when we thought "why does mine never look like that".

I conquered the lemon meringue pie. But as it was served up and eaten in its entirety in one evening, there were no photos taken. All I have to show for it is this very realistic drawing...

Chocolate & Orange Tart

Inspired by the genius that is Willie Harcourt-Cooze (aka. Willies Wonky). After watching his Christmas special the other night, drooling just a little as he sprinkled, poured and stuffed his 100% cacao into everything he made, I just had to make this chocolate tart. Willie had roughly explained how to make it, but I sourced the amounts for the ingredients from elsewhere. Result: a decadent, rich, orange infused, velvety textured tart. The smallest portion tips you over the edge so it's definatly one to share around.

Sweet Short Pastry

250g flour

Pinch of salt

125g icing sugar

125g butter, cold and cubed

zest of one orange

2 eggs beaten

1 tbsp ice cold water

Chocolate filling

300ml cream

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 eggs

400g dark chocolate (grated or broken into small pieces)

Sieve the flour and icing into a large bowl then rub in the butter until the mixture goes crumbly. Now add your zest, eggs and water. Add more cold water if necessary to bring the dough together. Gently work it into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, flatten and cover in clingfilm. It's important not to over work the pastry or else the butter will melt from the heat of your hands, leaving you with chewy pastry. Put in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 190 C. Grease tart tin and blind bake pastry for 15 minutes, then bake for a further 6 - 8 minutes. Trim any pastry hanging off the sides of the tray. Turn oven down to 150 C.

For the filling, bring the cream to the boil whisk in the sugar and eggs. Then add your chocolate. Pour into the pastry case and bake for 35 - 40 mins. It's ready to be taken out when the center still wobbles a bit but the outside stays still. Once cooled down, pop it in the fridge until needed.