Ingredients
Base
- 150g digestive biscuits
- 50g sieved cocoa
- 50g melted butter
Lemon layer
- 2 large lemons
- 2 whole eggs
- 150g caster sugar
- 100g cold butter, cubed
- 1 heaped teaspoon corn flour
Meringue topping
- 3 egg whites
- 120g caster sugar
Equipment
Baking paper, 6-7 ramekins (double all quantities and it’ll fit a 24cm flan dish), medium saucepan, large baking tray.
Directions
Base
Pulverise the biscuits using your favourite technique: using a rolling pin, or with a blender, or even by hand - it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Add the crushed biscuits to line the bottom of your container(s).
Pour over the melted butter. Use a spoon to press it down. Aim for a thickness of 1-2cm.
The lemon layer
Zest and juice both lemons into a medium-sized saucepan. Whisk in the eggs. Cut the butter into small cubes and add this to the pan. Add the sugar and corn flour and whisk this over a medium heat.[x] When the mixture begins to thicken reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 2 minutes. Next pour the mixture on top of the biscuit base and put the ramekins into the fridge. Allow this to set: it should take less than half an hour. Test by tipping the ramekins; the curd should not flow.
Meringue layer
Preheat the oven to a low temperature: gas mark 2 /150C
Whisk the egg whites[y] for a long time until the mixture is fluffy. You should be able to upturn the bowl without the mixture coming out. Whisk it a little more just to be sure.[z] Whisk in the sugar a little at a time (in quarters or thereabouts).
Use a spoon to transfer the mixture into the ramekins. Use as much or as little as you want; the meringues will keep their approximate shape and size after cooking.
Any left over mixture can be turned into self-standing meringues and cooked alongside the ramekins. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the ramekins onto this and add dollops of the mixture where there is room between them. (If there’s no mixture left then there’s no need to use the baking paper)
Place the tray into the oven and bake for 60-80 minutes, or until the meringues start to brown ever so slightly.
Points of caution when making this
[x] Don’t use a high heat - don’t let the mixture boil or burn.
[y] Be sure to not have egg yolk in the mixture
[z] In reality, there is not a huge problem if the eggwhites are a little underwhisked. So long as the mixture is white and foamy. The result is that the mergingues will be flat - though still edible.