LEMON AND LIME MERINGUE TRANCH PIE

(Serves 8-10)

INGREDIENTS:

Shortcrust pastry: 150g plain flour; 90g butter, cubed; 2tbsp icing sugar; 1 egg

For the filling: 30g cornflour; finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon; finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lime; 50g caster sugar; 3 egg yolks

For the meringue topping: 3 egg whites; 175g caster sugar; a 12 x 36 x 2.5cm rectangular loose-bottomed fluted or tranche tin.

METHOD:

1. For the pastry: Whizz the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and whiz again until the dough forms a ball. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and roll thinly. Line the tin and press the pastry into the sides. Prick the base with a fork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and place a baking tray in the oven to get very hot.

3. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper, add baking beans, place on the hot baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for another five minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and lightly golden. Leave to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/130°C fan/Gas 2.

4. For the filling: In a pan whisk together the cornflour and 200ml water. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and lime and place over a medium heat. Continue to whisk until the mixture has boiled and thickened. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and egg yolks and whisk again. Pour into the pastry case and chill in the fridge.

5. For the meringue topping: Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar a little at a time, whisking on full speed, until you have a shiny, glossy meringue. Spoon into a piping bag with a plain 1.5cm nozzle and pipe even blobs over the surface of the chilled custard in a neat pattern. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use two dessert spoons.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until pale golden on top and firm to touch. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin.

Serve warm with pouring cream.

BERRY’S TIPS: Can be made up to eight hours ahead and reheated gently to serve. Not for freezing.

Do not serve the pie hot, as the filling may be a bit soft and will spill out of the pastry case.