EASY STICKY LEMON PIE WITH SHERBET MERINGUE

SERVES 12 / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES PLUS COOLING TIME / COOKING 50 MINUTES

250g malt biscuits, broken into small pieces 100g butter, melted

6 eggs, separated

1 x 395g can sweetened condensed milk finely grated zest and juice of 6 lemons

(to get 1 cup (250ml) lemon juice)

½ cup (125ml) cream, plus extra to serve 440g caster sugar

1 teaspoon citric acid

Heat the oven to 150°C fan forced or 170°C conventional.

Place the biscuits in a food processor and whizz to form a crumb. Add the butter and pulse to combine. Use to line the base of a 26cm round pie or quiche dish. Chill for 10 minutes, or until firm.

Combine the egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon zest and juice, cream and 110g of the sugar. Pour over the prepared base. Bake on a tray for 45 minutes, or until golden at the edges and bubbling. Stand to cool, then chill if serving cold.

For the meringue, place the egg whites and the remaining 330g sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 4-5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved completely and the mixture is hot – check this by rubbing it between your fingers. Add the citric acid and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high for 5 minutes, or until a thick meringue forms. Spoon over the lemon pie and use the back of a spoon to create waves of meringue. At this stage you can leave the meringue as it is, torch it with a blowtorch if you have one, or brown it under a preheated oven grill for 2-3 minutes before serving.