This recipe was typed out by Miss Finch on her dad’s type writer c. 1975 and has been made so many times in the Bird house over the last 45 years. Yum. Thank you Aunty Jackie.

Here’s the metric version…

For the pastry shell;
100g plain or self-raising flour
50g butter or margarine
A splash of water (around one dessert spoon)
Margarine will make a lighter pastry. Start with the butter or margarine at room temperature so it’s easier to work with.

For the lemon custard;
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
Water
50g caster sugar
3 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1 dessert spoon of cornflour
A splash of water to make the cornflour paste

For the meringue topping;
3 egg whites
50 g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
Vanilla essence

Start by making the pastry shell.
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease or line a pie tin.
Make the pastry crumb by rubbing together the flour and butter with your fingertips. Works best with little cubes of butter or margarine and cold hands. As you are working lift the crumb to get lots of air in. Be careful not to overwork it.
Once you have an even breadcrumb consistency, add a dessert spoon of water and bring it together with your hands into a ball of pastry. It should be fairly dry and crumbly but sticky enough to hold together. Add more water if necessary.
Flour your work surface and roll out. Use your rolling pin to lift it into the pie tin. Blind bake until golden. If you don’t have the right tin, you could use rolled up foil or baking beans to help keep the shape. When done, it should be a light golden colour and lift away from the tin in one piece. Move to an oven-proof plate and leave to cool. Leave the oven on.

Then the lemon custard.
Pour the lemon juice into a jug and add cold water to make it up to 200ml.
Add it to a saucepan with the lemon rind, sugar and salt and heat until boiling.
While it is heating bring together the cornflour and a splash of water to make a milky paste.
Slowly pour the cornflour paste into the lemon juice mixture, stirring continually with a wooden spoon. The lemon juice mixture will become thick and almost gloopy. Heat for a few minutes, stirring continually. Then take it off the heat and leave to cool a little. Stirring a little will help the heat to transfer away.
Whisk together the egg yolks. Stir them into the cooled juice mixture. Reheat for a few minutes but do not boil as the eggs will curdle. Again leave it to cool a little and then use it to fill the pastry shell.

Then the meringue topping.
Beat the egg whites and vanilla essence until the mixture is dry and forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in the sugar and salt. Spoon the meringue over the lemon mixture. Be careful to fold it over the edge of the pastry so there are no air pockets. Pile it up well in the middle. Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden on top.

Enjoy hot or cold.

Mum’s version made live on Zoom c. Christmas lockdown 2020. Pairs well with a tumbler of G&T.