Easy lemon meringue pie
An easy version of this dish that uses digestive biscuits as a base, but doesn’t lose anything in the eating. The filling doesn’t have to be cooked either. We made this for our friend Dave on his birthday.
Lemon Meringue Pie
For the base:
- 175g digestive biscuits
- 75g butter
For the filling:
- 397g can full-fat condensed milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- finely grated rind and juice of 3 lemons
For the topping:
- 3 large egg whites
- 175g caster sugar
You need a 20cm deep fluted flan dish.
Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/Fan 170ºC/Gas 5.
Put the biscuits into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a pan, then take off the heat and stir in the crushed biscuits. Press into the flan dish and leave to set in the fridge. (You can do this bit a day or two in advance.)
Pour the condensed milk into a bowl, then beat in the egg yolks, lemon rind and lemon juice (don’t worry about the mixture thickening on standing and loosening again when you stir it). Pour the mixture into the biscuit-lined dish. (You can mix this filling, cover and keep in the fridge for up to 8 hours before baking).
Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, whisking well each time. Whisk until very stiff and all the sugar has been added.
Pile spoonfuls of the meringue over the filling, then spread to cover to the biscuit edge, lightly swirling as you go.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Leave to cool for about 30 minutes, then serve warm.
(Original recipe from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, BBC Books, 2009.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
Delicious meringue pie! Well done! 🙂
I think you had the right idea but your lemon curd didn’t pull together correctly and seems to be separating slightly. Though maybe that’s just how it is when you do it with condensed milk? I’ve never made a lemon curd that way. I’ve always done butter, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, and lemon juice/zest. What inspired you to use condensed milk?
Hi Bee. This is definitely not a traditional lemon meringue pie recipe and comes from Mary Berry’s baking bible. We know what you mean about the lemon curd and we too usually make it in the normal way (https://jonoandjules.com/2014/05/02/lemon-curd/). In fact we usually make it from the egg yolks left over from meringues, but we tried this recipe to see if it worked and it does. Once the curd is cooked it isn’t separated, but when initially preparing it it does look that way. We found the condensed milk filling a bit sweet (not surprisingly) and our friends thought Lemon Meringue Pie should definitely be on a pastry base. Having said that, it was a doddle to make. We’ll have to try the traditional version next time. Thanks for your comment and best wishes, J&J
Interesting, interesting. I would never have thought to use condensed milk. However I love the curd that you made in the post that you linked!!!! 🙂 🙂
I made this today, I’ve been wanting to try it since I saw it on Mary Berry’s favourites TV show but I am very disappointed with the result as all I can taste is, as I feared, condensed milk!
We’re sorry Christine it didn’t turn out as you hoped. We found ours a bit sweet too, but the speed of making attracted us to this and it was enjoyed by our friends as the lemon and egg balanced the condensed milk well. We didn’t mention how it was made and they didn’t detect it.
A good recipe when you need a lemon meringue pie in a hurry, but when we have time we’d definitely go the traditional route too.
I’ve been making this dessert for 25+ years and it’s a family favorite – I learned it from my Italian Nona, who lived in Brazil.
If you find it too sweet, it’s because your lemons were too ripe – the idea is that the tartness of the lemons counter balance with the sweetness of the condensed milk.
Thanks for the tips Vall! J&J