Lemon Meringue Pie

I had not known this cake before I came to New Zealand. It is a classic, the recipe from the bible of NZ classic cooking, the 'Edmonds Cookbook'. I got my first copy from Wendy for my birthday. Meanwhile mine looks quite used and crusty, but it is a sign of how much I use it I guess.

Ingredients

Base: 200 sweet short crust pastry

Filling: 1/2 cup cornflour (Maizena), 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 3/4cup water, 3 eggs separated, 1 tablespoon butter

Topping: 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence or 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Instructions:

Roll out pastry on a floured surface to a 6mm thickness. Use to line a 20cm tarte ring. Trim off any excess pastry. Bake blind ( Put baking paper on top of the dough, fill with dry beans or rice) at 190°C for 20 minutes. Remove baking blind material. Return pastry shell to oven for 1 minute to dry out pastry base. While pastry base is cooking make the filling. Pour the filling into cooked pastry base. Spoon meringue topping over lemon filling. Return to oven and bake at 190°C for 10 minutes or until golden.
Filling:
Blend cornflour, sugar, lemon rind and juice together until smooth. Add water. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in yolks and butter.
Topping:
Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until very thick and glossy. Stir in vanilla.