Santa Lemon Meringue Pie

November 17, 2014

Christmas is the season of giving, and what better way to express your love with the gift of food? This year, I'll be posting a series of christmas dessert recipes to countdown to the festive season. The first installment of the Christmas Series is a Santa Lemon Meringue Pie!

The fluffy meringue perfectly depicts Santa's large and white beard. It was a such a joy decorating this cake and watching Santa come to life. Piping his beard was my favourite part. I'm glad it turned out successfully.

SANTA LEMON MERINGUE PIE
6 - 8 servings
Recipe adapted from Laura and Donal

Equipment
6 inch spring-foam cake pan
Electric mixer
Piping bag and piping tip

Ingredients
[For Crust]
112.5g of plain flour
62.5g of Caster sugar
62.5g of unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

[For Lemon Filling]
375ml Water
225g Caster Sugar
30g Corn starch
1/4 Tablespoon of Salt
Zest of 2 Lemons
Juice of 2 Lemons
2 Tablespoon of unsalted butter
4 Egg Yolks

[For Meringue]
2 egg whites
3 Tablespoon of Castor Sugar

[For Santa's hat and eyes]
Raspberry jam/any red topping
2 Large Chocolate chips

Directions
[For Crust]
1. Using an electric mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla extract and baking powder until it forms a dough.
2. Press the dough into a lined spring-foam baking tray. Rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 225˚C and let it cool

[For Lemon Filling]
1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the water, castor sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Bring it to a gentle boil while mixing it continuously to prevent lumps.
2. Add the butter and whisk until it melts, add half a cup of the hot sugar mixture to the egg yolks and whisk t get them up to temperature. Add the egg yolk mixture to the pot with the remaining sugar mixture and cook for about 1 more minute constantly whisking. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Once cooled, fill it in the cooled crust.

[For Meringue]

1. Beat the egg whites until frothy and add the sugar little by little

2. Beat until stiff peaks form and transfer to a piping bag

3. Pipe the meringue on to the pie, making sure to form little peaks on top

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 175˚C for 10 - 15 minutes until the peaks are golden brown.

5. Let it cool for 3 hours before slicing. You can use chocolate chips for Santa's eyes and any red topping for his hat