Chocolate chip lime meringue pie

This was inspired by the sugary sweet chocolate limes my friends and I used to buy on the way to school (school bus arrival allowing). You can make the pastry and curd the day before you need them – simply keep the pastry case in a tin and the curd covered in the fridge. If making curd feels a bit too much like hard work then replace with the bought variety and don’t apologise for it.

FOR THE PASTRY:

INGREDIENTS

140g salted butter, chilled and cut into 1 cm cubes

280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g plain chocolate chips

1 large egg, beaten

FOR THE CURD:

4 egg yolks, beaten

200g caster sugar

1 tablespoon plain flour

25g cornflour

3 limes, finely zested and juiced

30g butter

green food colouring, (optional)

FOR THE MERINGUE:

4 egg whites

125g caster sugar

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency. Stir through the chocolate chips and then use a blunt knife to mix in the egg to bind the mixture. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes.

Roll the pastry out on a floured work surface to a rough circle about 30 cm across and the thickness of a pound coin. Place both hands under the pastry, palms up and fingers spread wide and transfer to a 26 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. This pastry is prone to cracking as you move it because of the chocolate; just move it and patch and mend the rips and edges once in the tin. There will be just enough pastry, with no leftovers.

Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans, dried rice or pulses and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes until completely cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, make the curd. Place the yolks in a heatproof bowl and lightly whisk. Whisk the sugar, flour and cornflour in a pan over a medium heat. Stir in 350 ml of water, lime zest and juice and continue to cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to the boil. Stir in the butter until dissolved and remove from the heat.

Add a third of the hot mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly. Pour this mixture back into the pan and return to the heat. Turn the heat up, bring to the boil and whisk constantly to stop any lumps from forming. When the curd is thick and bubbling remove from the heat and stir the food colouring through, if using. Leave the curd to cool before making the meringue.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Whisk the egg whites using a mixer or handheld whisk until soft peaks form. Add a tablespoon of sugar at a time, whisking for 20 seconds after each addition, until it is all incorporated and the meringue is bright white and glossy. Fill the cold tart case with the cold curd. Spoon the meringue first around the edges of the case and then pile what’s left into the middle to completely cover the curd and create a seal. Bake for 25 minutes until golden.

#normalmum #chocolatechip #lime #meringue #pie