South African-style Lemon Meringue
A buttery biscuit layer that's filled with a sweet-lemony filling and topped with a meringue. The filling and meringue bothe get baked in the oven. It's every sweet tooth's dream!
Print
Pin
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 200 g Tennis biscuits see note 1
- 125 g butter melted
- 385 g condensed milk
- 3 large eggs separated, see note 2
- 125 ml fresh lemon juice about 3-4 large lemons
- 1 tsp corn starch
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 120 grams caster sugar or powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ / 356℉. Prepare a 9 x 9-inch baking tin (or any shape you prefer) and line with baking paper.
- Blend the coconut biscuits until fine by either using a blender or place the biscuits in a zip lock bag and crush using a rolling pin.
- Add the biscuits and melted butter to a medium bowl and mix until well combined.
- Prepare a baking tin (I used a 9inch square pan or a round tin/springform tin with 23cm radius) with cook and spray or baking paper.
- Firmly press the base into the tin with the edges rising about an inch or so. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the egg yolk and condensed milk until well combined. Add the fresh lemon juice - you may add an additional tbsp or two if you'd like it to be extra lemon(y).
- Bake for 15mins at 180 degrees celisus. Meanwhile make the whipped egg whites.
- Add 3-4 egg whites (I used 4) to a large bowl. Add the cream of tartar and start whisking, gradually start adding in the sugar as your whisking. Lastly add in the vanilla essences and continue whisking until stiff peaks have formed.
- Remove the tart form the oven. Sift the cornstarch over the lemon filling (this'll help the meringue adhere to the filling). Dollop the whipped egg whites on top of the warm filling using a spoon or a piping bag. Feel free to get creative.
- Pop the tart back in the oven and bake for another 10mins until golden brown on top. Allow to reach room temperature before serving. You could also pop it in the fridge for 15minutes. This will allow the base to firm up a bit quicker. Once it's firmer, remove from the baking tin, slice and devour!
Video
Notes
- Biscuits: Use any coconut based biscuit if you can't source Tennis biscuits. You can use a food processor to blend the biscuits until fine or you can place them in a large Ziplock bag and crush them using a rolling pin. You could also use a blender, which I did.
- Eggs: you'll only need 3 large eggs for this whole recipe but if you want a tad more meringue on top (it does deflate a bit once baked) then you can add an extra egg white to the meringue, which I like doing. I just use the remaining egg yolk in my breakfast.
- Storage: The meringue will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container, in the fridge. Not Freezer friendly.