Daring Bakers' Challenge - Lemon Meringue Pie

This month's challenge was hosted by Jen, The Canadian Baker and I was quite excited about it because it is one of my mother's favourite desserts and I'd been on the lookout for a reliable recipe.

As some of you already know my blog is currently a secret from my beloved. He is so NOT a foodie that he just wouldn't get it, not to mention the whole public thing about blogging. Sometimes this causes a few problems with my Daring Bakers' Challenges if I don't have an occasion to bake/cook for and I run out of time which is more often than not the reason for my non participation, not because I don't like a recipe. What's not to like about lemons? I thought I was in luck this month because we had an invitation to our neighbours' house for dinner and I was asked to bring dessert. Unfortunately I didn't find out until early afternoon on the day of the dinner which meant I had a one shot attempt for the Lemon Meringue Pie. I started with the crust and I should have known that I was doomed to failure when I smelled burning and realised that I'd not removed the price sticker from my new pie dish. With the heat it had falled off onto the bottom of the oven and was turning into something brown and crispy. Just as well I wasn't cooking my egg mixture on the stove top at the same time or I would have had to abandon it in order to put out the potential fire in my kitchen. Mmmmm - can you say burned crust with a side of burned price tag?


In disgust I threw in the towel and uttered that particularly appropriate word that Kiwis say when they are frustrated.... .bugger!. Check out the video clip and you'll see what I mean!

I was glad that I hadn't started on the filling while the pastry was baking because this recipe is a big sucker and calls for 5 eggs and I would have been really annoyed to have wasted 5 eggs. The technique for the Lemon Meringue Pie filling is slightly different from most I've seen in that you thicken the egg mixture before you add the lemon juice. I'll be curious to see whether my variety of lemons works using this method - I know it doesn't when you bung everything in together and try and thicken it up. I will definitely be making this pie soon as I'm determined to have a success. The pictures of those I've seen look mouthsmackingly delicious. Check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll and see for yourself but make sure you have some time up your sleeves because I hear that we are up to 500 members now.

Subsequently, I cleaned my oven which is a Smeg brand and one of those ones where you dismantle the insides and pull out the liner. To do this I had to consult the manual and I discovered that because my oven is not vented it's suggested that you reduce your oven temperature by 10-20 degrees (Celsius). I've always thought that my oven was a bit fierce and now I know why.

Bring on the next challenge!