Lemon meringue pie

A zesty lemon pie covered in a marshmallow meringue. The fresh citrus flavour will leave you wanting more!

This is something my grandmother called Canadian Lemon pie - her recipe is essentially the mixture to go into your pastry case. You will need to blind bake the pastry case before adding the filling and topping it with the meringue. See notes below if you're unsure how to do this.

This is her list of ingredients for the whole pie filling. I have updated and separated it into those for lemon curd and meringue and increased the quantities to give a filling for a 23cm flan dish.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Zest and juice the lemons.

Lemon curd

250g caster sugar

300ml boiling water

3 egg yolks (beaten)

juice and zest of 3 lemons

3 tbsp cornflour

Put the sugar into a saucepan and gradually whisk in the boiling water over a low heat. When the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice, zest and egg yolks. Bring to a simmer whisking continuously. Remove from the heat. Mix the cornflour with a little water and add to the saucepan, whisking again to combine.

Do not be tempted to put it back on the heat - it should not be necessary.

Once it has thickened, allow to cool slightly before pouring into your pastry case.

Meringue

3 eggs whites

150g caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour

Put the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk until peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating until you have a stiff shiny mixture. Then sprinkle the cornflour into the mix and fold in. Spoon the meringue on top of your filled pie case, making sure you it goes to the edges of the pastry to completely seal the edges. Put in the oven for 15 minutes or until browned, but be careful that you don't give it too long or the meringue will crack.

Delicious on its own or served with double cream.

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How to blind bake a pastry case

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Roll out your pastry and fill your tart tin. Take a piece of baking paper, slightly larger than the tin, and put it into the tin on top of the pastry. Then fill with ceramic baking beans, dried pulses or rice to weigh the paper down. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to allow the base to dry out. When it's done, remove any excess pastry from the edges using a sharp knife.

Eve's Pudding

A traditional English pudding made from Bramley apples topped with a Victoria sponge cake mixture - light and tasty and so easy to make. This newspaper cutting was carefully stuck into my mother's cookery book. The name comes from the biblical Eve who tempted Adam with an apple from the tree.

750g Bramley apples

50g caster sugar

For the topping:

110g salted butter

110g caster sugar

110g self-raising flour

2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

Butter a baking dish, about 20cm square, or you can use a pie dish as I did.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples.

You can use an extra one or two if you want as they cook down to a thin layer beneath the sponge.

Cook the apples in a saucepan (with no liquid) until soft. Stir in the caster sugar and once dissolved, remove from the heat. Tip into the baking dish to cool.

Whisk the eggs and sieve the flour. Cream the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the whisked eggs to the mixture, putting a spoonful of flour in between each addition. Add the rest of the flour and mix everything together thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture on top of the apples and bake for 50-55 minutes. Dust with caster sugar and serve warm with custard or ice cream.

Gooseberry upside-down cake

A very easy, impressive and gorgeous upside-down cake - gooseberries and brown sugar sitting on top of a delicious sponge.

This newspaper cutting is from my grandmother's book.

The topping - 50g butter, 85g soft brown sugar, 200g gooseberries

The sponge - 170g self-raising flour, 110g caster sugar, 85g butter, 1 egg, 140ml milk

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Put a 20cm square ovenproof dish on the hob and melt the butter. I have used my mother's tarte tatin dish but you could also use a cast-iron frying pan or a small cake tin.

Stir in the sugar and allow to dissolve, then put in a layer of gooseberries and turn off the heat.

For the sponge, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the flour, alternating with the beaten egg and milk. It should be a soft, dropping consistency.

Cover the gooseberries with the sponge mixture and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once cooked, turn out of the tin by putting a plate on top and turning the whole thing upside down. Best eaten warm with ice cream.