Lemon Pie or Pie de Limon
Lemon has always been one of my favorite ingredients in the kitchen, probably because I grew up smelling their beautiful essence in many of my relatives gardens, where a lemon tree was always standing in the centre. Lemons are the essence of southern Italy's recipes and also the basic element of the most famous spirit we produce, Limoncello.
Lemon juice is the base of any salad dressing, while lemon rind is the key element of any good pastry base or home made dessert. This cake is a delicious and simple recipe I had the chance to try in Chile, an amazing country where I have been traveling and obviously eating a lot of amazing dishes. This cake is probably one of the most controversial recipes ever, it is not clear if the americans stole it from the spanish or the other way around. It is anyway a delicious and spectacular dessert, even though I wouldn't advice to make it for a hungry crowd if it is the first time you put your hands on a meringue..But once you have overcome the fear of approaching this mysterious mixture, you will be so empowered by the experience that you will feed your guests with it until they won't ask for more!
Pastry:
250 gr white flour
150 gr cold butter chopped
80 ml cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
half spoon baking powder
Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and process to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, gradually add the water and vanilla and process until mixture comes together to form a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Roll the pastry on a 25 cm metal pie tin covered with baking paper. Cover the pastry with baking weights or with uncooked rice or legumes in order to avoid the pastry to inflate and result uneven. Blind bake for 15 minutes at 180°. Set aside and allow to cool down.
Filling
1 can Condensed milk
Juice of 3 lemons
Mix the condensed milk with lemon juice until you get a thick cream.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Meringue
4 egg whites
60 gr of caster sugar
Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Do the meringue mixture at last minute as it will lose texture if prepared to long in advance.
Final touch:
Get your shell and distribute the lemon cream mixture into it. Use a spatula to distribute the cream and fill up a piping bag with the meringue mixture.
Create a pattern of meringue picks starting from the edges and continuing to the centre.
Once completed the whole surface prepare to lightly bake the cake.
This is a critical moment: the meringue is very delicate and will burn easily if not looked after.
Bake the cake in a hot oven and set the grill option. It will take less that 2 minutes to be nicely browned.
Get the cake out of the oven, refrigerate for about 2 hours and enjoy.
