St Clements Meringue Pie

Ingredients:

Enough sweet pastry (use this Medieval recipe for Royal Pastry) for a 20cm pastry dish.
3 eggs, separated
600ml milk
30g granulated sugar
180g caster sugar
finely-grated zest of 1/2 lemon
finely-grated zest of 1/2 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 orange
1 dessert spoon cornflour (cornstarch)

Method:

Prepare the pastry according to the recipe then roll out until large enough to cover the base and sides of a flan dish. Line the dish then trim off any excess pastry. Cover with greaseproof (waxed) paper and baking beads or baking beans then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the pastry is about 3/4 done. When ready, remove from the oven, take out the beans and greaseproof paper and set aside.

In the meantime, mix the cornflour with a little milk in a bowl until you have a smooth slurry. Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a saucepan then take off the heat and whisk into the cornflour, beating until smooth. Whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, orange zest and lemon zest until smooth then mix into the milk mixture before whisking in the orange juice and lemon juice. Pour into a pan and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. Take off the heat, allow to cool slightly, then pour into the prepared flan case and set aside to cool completely.

Once the mixture is cold place the egg whites in a clean and dry bow then beat as stiffly as you can before gently folding into the caster sugar. Spread the meringue on top of the pie then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meringue is crisp and golden. Allow to cool before serving.