Lime meringue with ginger biscuits

Ingredients

For the base:

• 350gr gluten-free stem ginger biscuits (I used a mix of Nairn’s gluten-free stem ginger oat biscuits and Waitrose’s Free From Stem Ginger cookies)

• 215gr unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

For the lime filling:

• 8 limes (zested and juiced)

• 6 egg yolks (save the egg whites)

• 250gr golden caster sugar

• 170gr unsalted butter

• 2 whole eggs

• 4 tbsp cornflour

For the meringue:

• 6 egg whites

• 300gr golden caster sugar

• A pinch of salt

Method

I tend to start by making the base. I whizz the biscuits in the food processor until they turn into an even crumb texture (no big chunks!). A little tip: If you’re feeling particularly angry or overwhelmed, you can put the biscuits into a ziplocked bag (take the air out) and use a rolling pin to crush them - I can guarantee you’ll feel a million times better after. I then transfer them into a bowl and put them aside. In a small pan, I melt the butter with the sugar and the ground ginger. It should just melt - no need to bring it to a boil, so low heat works best. Once the butter mixture is melted, I leave it to cool slightly (2 minutes) and then pour into the biscuit crumbs. I mix thoroughly using a rubber spatula until I’m sure all the crumbs are evenly coated. I lightly grease a loose-bottomed pie tin (9 inches/23cm) using cooking spray and a kitchen towel to absorb the excess and then press the crumb mixture into it using the back of a spoon. If it’s not holding its shape, I put it into the fridge for an hour and then return to it and press it into shape using my clean hands. Back into the fridge, it goes, until the next stage.

I then move onto making the filling by cooking the lime zest, juice, sugar, and (sifted) cornflour in a pot on low heat until it becomes thick, smooth, and bubbly. At this point, I take it off the heat and melt the butter into it by whisking it until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, I lightly beat the egg yolks and whole eggs, to which I add two spoonfuls of the thickened lime filling to temper the eggs before I add everything back into the pot gently and cook it on medium heat for a few minutes, whilst continuously whisking. Then I wait for the ‘plop’ - this is a technical term in my world and it means that when I take a spoonful of the filling and drop it into the rest of the mixture there is a glorious plopping sound that tells me it’s done (haha!). Once it’s nice and ‘ploppy’, I sieve the mixture through to remove most of the zest (I’m not quite fond of lime zest in my desserts as I find it too tough) and put it aside to cool for a good 20-30 minutes at room temperature. I tend to cover it with clingfilm leaving a little corner open to avoid it setting or developing a skin. Once it’s cooled down to touch, I transfer the filling into the biscuit crust, level it out, cover it with clingfilm, and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or overnight, if possible.

Just before it’s time to serve, I make the meringue. I have tried many meringues until I found one that does not weep, even if made the day before and left in the fridge in an air-tight container (tried and tested) - The Swiss Meringue. I make it with golden caster sugar because I think the flavour is incredible and goes so well with the lime filling. I start by mixing the sugar, salt, and egg whites in a heatproof bowl. In a pot, I pour about 3/4 of an inch of water and bring it to a gentle boil. I then put the bowl with the egg white mixture on top and turn down the heat to ensure there is no ‘spitting’ (this avoids water getting into the meringue mixture). Using a digital thermometer, I cook the mixture until it reaches 80ºC (it takes me about 20-25mins), whilst stirring to ensure that all the sugar dissolves. The mixture thickens and almost looks like molten candy. At this point, I use my electric egg beaters (if you have a standing mixer with a whisk attachment, this is its time to shine - I sadly don’t have space in my current kitchen to own one) and beat the egg whites mixture on high speed for a good 12-15 minutes, until they’re glossy and hold their peaks. This is a very stable meringue so I leave it to cool down to room temperature in the same bowl.

Once it’s time to serve, I spoon the meringue onto the lime filling and use a palette knife to give it a bit of a rustic shape. Now for the fun part and hands down the best part of making this dessert: the blow torch! I use a small kitchen blow torch, (though I dream of owning one of those large ones that require you to wear protective gear to operate safely alas my time will come), to caramelize the top, going with the natural shapes created with the palette knife in the meringue.

I am going to be totally honest with you here - for someone who prefers cooking savoury food, this lime meringue was not the easiest feat and I have made each element multiple times, hopefully, so you don’t have to. One thing I can promise though is that it is SO worth it. My friends gobbled it down after the photo was taken and I bet if there were seconds, they would have rallied around for more (I’d say it served 8 people generously). Enjoy!