When you are living a sugar free lifestyle there are certain things that you just come to terms with giving up because there is no ‘healthy’ alternative way of making it. One of these things is Meringues. I have made Lemon Curd and Lemon Tarts before >> Recipe HERE, but thought that Lemon Meringue Pie (a total FAVE in our household… aka my Dad’s) was off the cards until I came across the AMAZING recipe in the I Quit Sugar For Life cookbook by the sensational Sugar Free Aussie – Sarah Wilson!

I must admit that I had some doubt about it. Firstly Meringue is made with egg whites and a S#!T tonne of caster sugar and to be honest I have never seen it made any other way. And then there’s the lemon curd which is so sour and tangy complimented with another S#!T tonne of sugar which sits a top of a crunchy golden biscuitty base made with… you guessed it a S#!T tonne of sugar!

I put the recipe to the test, with a few minor personal changes (and made it into a large pie rather than little jars) and served it up to a combination of healthy ladies and sugar hungry men. The verdict was thumbs up all round and you simply COULD NOT tell the difference between this delight and a regular LM pie laden with a S#!T tonne of sugar.

LEMON MERINGE PIE

Serves 8 – SF GF P DF*

BASE

1 cup plain flour (I used oat flour)

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

 1 Tbs granulated stevia by Natvia Natural Sweeteners 

 1/2 tsp ground ginger

 1 tsp vanilla essence or powder

 50g unsalted butter, diced or coconut oil

 3 Tbs water

LEMON CURD

6 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)

 1 whole egg

 1 1/2 tbs granulated stevia by Natvia Natural Sweeteners

 grated zest and strained juice of 2 lemons

 100g unsalted butter or coconut oil

MERINGUE

6 egg whites 

 3 Tbs rice malt by Pure Harvest

 

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.  Place all base ingredients in the food processor and pulse until combined and crumbly. Press into greased pie tin/tart base and bake in oven for 15 minutes until golden. Remove and set aside to cool.

While the base is baking it is time to make the curd. Get your finger licking skills ready because it is so darn tasty. Place the lemon juice and zest, egg yolks, egg and coconut oil in a small pot on the stove on a medium/low heat. Add the stevia and whisk until it starts to thicken. Careful not to boil or fry the curd because it will turn into scrambled eggs. After 3-5 minutes it will start to thicken quickly. Remove from heat and keep whisking. Set aside to cool slightly before pouring into the pie tin on top of the base.

To make the meringue you will need a clean whisk, a glass bowl and some serious bicep strength for whipping. It is also handy to have a baking helper (or two) to sub in and out of whisking when the arm starts to tire. Trust me! Whisk the egg whites and the rice malt syrup in the bowl rapidly until the whites thicken, soft peaks form and the mixture goes a glassy white opaque colour.

Pour meringue on top of the lemon curd and using the whisk make some little peaks. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the peaks of the meringue are golden. Careful not to burn.

Serve warm or cool. I topped mine with some little pieces of fresh mint leaves.

K