Recipe: Easy Lemon Meringue Pie

Prepare the crumb base by combining the shortbread crumbs and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom and sides of a 23cm fluted flan tin then place in the fridge to chill.

For the filling, measure the cornflour into a small bowl and add enough of the cold water to make a smooth runny paste. Stir in the sugar. Place the rest of the water into a saucepan with the lemon zest and bring to the boil

Carefully pour a little of the hot liquid into the cornflour mixture, stir well and return to the pan with the rest of the hot liquid. Add the lemon juice to the pan. Bring back to simmering point stirring continuously until the mixture has thickened.

Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Finally, beat in the butter. Pour into the chilled crumb base and leave to cool completely. Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC. Place the egg whites in a large clean mixing bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar 1/3 at a time beating well between each addition. Spoon the meringue evenly onto the cooled filling, creating swirls and peaks with the back of the spoon. Place in the pre-heated oven for around 40 minutes or until the meringue is pale golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving warm.