This Mary Berry lemon meringue pie with biscuit base is her Quickest Ever Lemon Meringue Pie from Absolute Favourites, with no pastry at all. And it serves 6 at about 620 calories each, taking about 1 hour 15 minutes including 30 minutes to firm up.
Mary calls it “a cheat’s recipe”, with “no pastry and no long, complicated method for making the lemon filling”. So instead of a cornflour filling boiled on the hob, the filling is just condensed milk, egg yolks and lemon beaten together in a bowl.
Full-fat condensed milk is what makes or breaks this pie, because Mary warns that with light condensed milk “the filling will not set”. And don’t panic when it thickens as it stands, then loosens once stirred, since she says that is “nothing to worry about”.
Mary Berry Quickest Ever Lemon Meringue Pie
Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings25
minutes20
minutes620
kcal1
hour15
minutesMelted butter, demerara and crushed digestives are pressed into a deep tart dish for a crisp crumb shell. Then a simple, sharp, stir-together lemon filling goes in under a swirl of soft meringue, which bakes until pale golden.
Ingredients
- For the base:
75g (3oz) butter
25g (1oz) demerara sugar
175g (6oz) digestive biscuits, finely crushed
- For the filling:
1 x 394g tin full-fat sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
finely grated rind and juice of 2 large lemons
- For the topping:
3 egg whites
175g (6oz) caster sugar
Directions
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/Gas 5. Then get out a 23cm (9in) round ceramic tart dish, straight-sided or fluted, about 4cm (1½in) deep.
- Make the base: Crush the biscuits in a sealed plastic bag with a rolling pin. Then melt the butter in a medium pan, take it off the heat and stir in the demerara and crumbs. Then press it into the dish with the back of a spoon, bringing it up the sides and smoothing the base evenly.
- Mix the filling: Pour the condensed milk into a bowl, then beat in the egg yolks, lemon rind and strained juice, before pouring it into the biscuit-lined dish.
- Whisk the meringue: Whisk the egg whites in a large, spotlessly clean bowl, ideally with an electric hand whisk, until they look like clouds. Then add the caster sugar a teaspoon at a time, whisking well at full speed between each addition.
- Top the pie: Spoon the meringue over the filling in separate blobs, then spread it gently to cover the filling right to the biscuit edges. Then swirl the surface lightly.
- Bake and rest: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meringue is pale golden. Then set it aside for about 30 minutes so the filling can firm up, and serve warm.
FAQs
How do you make the meringue for lemon meringue pie?
Her Ultimate Cake Book says to use egg whites at room temperature for maximum volume, and to whisk them only to stiff peaks. So lift the whisk out to test, because the white clinging to it should stand up straight without flopping over at the tip.
If the meringue is too runny, the same book blames whites that weren’t stiff enough, or sugar not whisked in hard enough at first. And spare whites can be kept in the fridge or frozen, while she uses 25ml as the measure for one egg white.
Why is my lemon meringue pie weeping?
Her Ultimate Cake Book says sugar weeping out of meringue is usually caused by adding the sugar too quickly, or too much at once. And in Mary Berry Cooks she says adding it gradually is what stops the meringue “collapsing or weeping”.
Cracks and large air holes are a different fault, which her Ultimate Cake Book puts down to overwhisked egg whites.
Can you freeze lemon meringue pie, or make it ahead?
No, because her Ultimate Cake Book says “do not freeze soft meringue toppings such as lemon meringue pie”. But Absolute Favourites says it can be made up to 6 hours ahead, or the base and filling chilled overnight.
Her 100 Sweet Treats version keeps the crumb-lined dish in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the filling for up to 8 hours. And it warns that the meringue shrinks a little on standing, so I bake it as close to serving as I can.
How is this different from her classic lemon meringue pie?
Her classic pie in the Complete Cookbook uses pastry and a cornflour filling boiled with lemon and water, serving 8 to 10. But this quick cheat’s version has no pastry and no hob-cooked filling, and it shares its condensed milk trick with her easy lemon cheesecake.
Her 100 Sweet Treats book has a very similar biscuit-crust pie, though it uses 3 lemons, no demerara and a 20cm flan dish. So the demerara is the main change here, adding a little extra sweetness and crunch to the crumb.
How many calories are in this lemon meringue pie?
By my maths the whole pie comes to about 3,700 calories, mostly from the condensed milk, digestives, butter and caster sugar. So each of 6 slices is roughly 620, while her classic pastry pie in the Complete Cookbook is 430 to 537 a serving.
For something smaller, her lemon meringue cupcakes pack lemon and meringue, plus strawberry, into a teatime bake. And if you’re buying condensed milk anyway, her millionaire shortbread uses two tins of it.
