Biscuit Base Lemon Meringue Pie

I have been working on my fitness the last couple of months, with getting older and all, I thought I should try and take a little time for myself and get fitter. 

I have tried many activities over the past ten years and as much as I love going out on my bicycle, it can be somewhat time consuming and with winter months closing in it can be a bit dangerous too. So I have found my newest love.....YOGA!!

Yoga has just wormed it's way into my heart, I find myself really looking forward to my 30-40 minute session after I've dropped the children off to school. I find it very calming, restful almost, slowly but surely my muscle tone has improved, I find myself breathing deeply in times of annoyance and my flexibility has improved no end.

During the summer I came across Tara Stiles and I found a set of her beginner classes online, it is broken up into 10 minutes sessions (the core strength is a tough one!!) so I will eventually build up to an hour long session. I really enjoy her calm and soothing manner and my only outlay has been a inexpensive non slip yoga mat. 

Now don't get me wrong readers I still love baking my favorite desserts and sharing them with you, so behold my next installment..a fairly quick and easy Lemon Meringue Pie. This is really too easy for it's own good, there is no real skill involved, but the finished product is light and lemony with a crunchy base that will have you fighting for more!

Recipe adapted from Mary Berry's 100 Sweet Treats and Puds.

Serves 8

Ingredients
175g Digestive biscuits, crushed
75g Butter
397g Tin of condensed milk  (I used Aldi's full fat Condensed milk)
3 Eggs, separated
3 Lemons, juice and zest
175g Caster sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas Mark 5. Crush the biscuits in a mini chopper until they are a fine crumb or if you prefer, place the biscuits in a freezer bag and bash them with the tin of condensed milk, very cathartic!!

Melt the butter in a medium sized bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds, add the crushed biscuits and mix thoroughly until it resembles wet sand.

Mary Berry's original equipment list called for a 20cm fluted tin, I used my 26cm fluted tin instead (which I greased just to be sure nothing stuck to it). Having the slightly larger fluted tin didn't affect the recipe, however spreading the biscuit base took a little longer than I expected and I found the finer the biscuit was crushed the better it coverage I got.

Smooth the biscuit mix into the base and sides of the tin with the back of a metal spoon. Chill the base in the fridge, meanwhile make the lemon filling. 

Pour the tin of condensed milk in a medium sized bowl, add three egg yolks and the juice and zest of the three lemons. Mix together by hand and spread over the chilled base, set aside.

Using an electric mixer whisk the egg whites on high until they form stiff peaks (pictured on the left). Add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisk well after addition -make sure no sugar remains before you add another spoonful otherwise your meringue will collapse. When all the sugar has been added, beat for a further 2-3 minutes until the meringue is thick and glossy (pictured on the right).

Spread the fluffy meringue right to the edges with a pallet knife or a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Lemony goodness awaits.....