Lemon Meringue

This recipe is for my brother who just came back from paris. He had a lemon meringue every day for dessert.......you could say that he has a sweet tooth. This recipe is adapted from chef Gordon Ramsay. The photo was taken by Marius Johannesen when I invited my friends from school to a dinner party.

125g unsalted butter

90g sugar

1 egg

250g plain flour

50g dark chocolate, melted

6 eggs, (2 whole and only 4 yolks)

180g sugar

200ml cream

2 lemons, juiced

3 egg whites

4 tbsp sugar

To make the pastry put the butter and sugar in a food processor and whizz until just combined. Add the egg and whizz for 30 seconds. Add the flour and process for a few seconds until the dough just comes together, (add 1 tbsp cold water if the dough seems too dry). Knead lightly on a surface dusted with flour then shape into a flat disc and chill for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 190C. Roll the pastry out and use it to line a 20cm loose-based tart ring. Leave the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Rest for 20 minutes in the fridge. Line the pastry with baking parchment and dry beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake another 5 minutes until the base is cooked and lightly golden.

Brush the base with the melted chocolate and cool. Lower oven to 110C.

Whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar together in a bowl and stir in the cream. Finally, add the lemon juice - this will thicken the cream.

Pour the filling into the pastry case and carefully push the shelf back and bake for 50-60 minutes until the filling is almost set. It should have a slight wobble in the centre. Trim the pastry level with the top of the tin and leave it to cool completely.

Whisk the egg whites untill stiff and add the sugar slowly. Continue whisking untill the egg whites make stiff peaks. Spread the meringue over the pie and run a cook's blowtorch over the surface to give a baked effect.