Lemon, orange and ginger meringue pie

After watching botanical week on the Great British Bake Off this wednesday, there was really only one thing that I could think about baking – the lemon, orange and ginger meringue pie that I first tasted in South Africa. With a twist on the standard lemon meringue pie, Instead of pastry, it uses a crushed ginger biscuit bake which sets off the sweet meringue and tangy orange and lemon curd perfectly.

Here’s how to make it:

Orange, lemon and ginger meringue pie

For the base  

1 200g pack of ginger nuts, crushed
75g melted butter

For the filling

1 level tbsp cornflour
100g caster sugar
zest and juice of 2 lemons
juice of 1 orange
75g butter
3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg, beaten together

For the meringue

4 egg whites
200g sugar
1 level tsp cornflour

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Then crush the biscuits into fine crumbs. I used the Nutri Ninja Complete Kitchen in cup mode and pulsed the biscuits for a minute until they were nicely disintegrated (love how quickly it turned them into perfect crumbs). If you don’t have a machine that can do that kind of thing for you, you can put them in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin instead. Melt the butter, mix it with the breadcrumbs and then press the biscuit mix into a 9 inch fluted flan tin. 

2. Bake the base for 10 minutes, then allow to cool. Whilst the base is cooling prepare the filling by heating the cornflour, sugar, lemon zest and orange/lemon juices. Stir until the mixture has thickened slightly, then beat in the eggs and keep stirring until the mixture is thick enough to plop off the spoon.

3. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then add the spoonful at a time until half of it is mixed in and the meringue is smooth and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour, then slowly add the rest of the sugar until all combined.

4. Reheat the curd mixture until it begins to bubble, then pour it into the prepared base. Add spoonfuls of meringue around the edge of the pie, then scoop the rest of the meringue into the middle and swirl with a clean knife. This allows the meringue to begin cooking on the hot filling and gives the meringue a really nice texture.

5. Place the whole pie in the oven for about 20 minutes until beginning to brown on top. Remove from the oven, and cool for 30 minutes in the tin before removing and cooling for a further 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!