My miniature daffodils are about to come out in bloom, the sun has shone at least a couple of times this week and I am still hopeful the dead patch on the front lawn, where the skip sat for a few weeks, will suddenly spring into life and we'll see some grass poking through.
Lemon meringue pie is rarely on the dessert menu these days, which is no bad thing because typically it's a disappointment when it arrives and leaves me wanting to weep. Lemon meringue pie is a thing of beauty and for me it's got to be perfect.
I wish it didn't take so long to make. Occasionally I make and line the baking tin with pastry the day before and leave it in the fridge until the next day - a two day operation to make the pie but it makes life easier.
I'm not keen on lemon fillings which taste of lemon curd but this recipe by Delia Smith is the one I have used over the years and I would take some convincing that it can be improved upon. I make more pastry than Delia recommends I find her amounts a bit on the skinny side and there is nothing more frustrating than finding there isn't enough pastry.
I mostly make Delia's recipe to the letter but after seeing Lorraine Pascale make her meringue using the reverse method I thought I'd experiment and give it a go. The meringue doesn't look very promising when you start whisking but it sorts itself out in the end and I was impressed with the consistency and volume of meringue. Occasionally my meringue weeps which is a pain but using this method the meringue doesn't weep and now I'm a convert. For a crisp meringue I still used Delia's oven temperature and timings.