Lemon Meringue Pie

Serves 10-12

A crisp pastry base and tangy citrus filling contrasted with sweet fluffy meringue makes this classic Australian favourite a dessert to die for. This topped off a great night with friends on Australia Day for us and followed a traditional lamb roast with vegetables and gravy. It's laden with sugar though, so this is definitely one to put in your every now and again box. But it's so good I had to share. 

What's in it?

Pastry
20g icing sugar
230g plain flour
100g unsalted chilled butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
2tbs chilled water

Filling
Rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
75g cornflour
220g white sugar
180g lemon juice
220g water
60g butter, cubed
3 egg yolks

Meringue
4 eggs whites, at room temperature
1/4tsp cream of tartar
150g icing sugar

How do I make it?

Pastry Case
1. Place icing sugar in bowl and process, to remove any lumps, for 10sec / speed 9.
2. Add flour and butter and process for 10sec / speed 6. Mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.
3. Add egg yolk and water and combine for 4sec / speed 4.
4. Knead mixture for 30sec / interval speed.
5. Turn dough onto ThermoMat or floured surface and work into a tight round ball. 
6. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.
7. Preheat oven to 240°C electric / 220°C fan-forced. Spray 24cm round loose based fluted pie/flan tin with cooking spray.
8. Roll pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until large enough to line the tin. Ease pastry into tin, press into base and sides. Trim edges. Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes.
9. Place tin onto an oven tray and line pastry case with baking paper. Fill with pie beads or dry rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove paper and beads/rice from shell. Bake for a further 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Turn off oven.

Filling
11. Place lemon rind, cornflour and sugar in mixing bowl and mill for 10sec / speed 9. Scrape down sides of bowl.
12. Add lemon juice, water and butter and cook for 5min / varoma / speed 2. Mixture should thicken.
13. With blade running for 30sec / speed 3, add egg yolks one at a time.
14. Allow to cool in bowl for 15 minutes, then pour into pastry case and spread evenly.
15. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Thoroughly clean and dry mixing bowl.

Meringue
16. Preheat oven to 200°C if you do not own a kitchen blowtorch. 
17. Insert butterfly whisk into mixing bowl. Place egg whites and cream of tartar into mixing bowl and whip for 3min / 50°C / speed 3.5 (TM5) or speed 4 (TM31). Stiff peaks should have formed, but whip for an extra minute if required. 
18. With blade turning for 4min / 50°C / speed 3, add icing sugar gradually 1tbs at a time through hole in mixing bowl lid. 
19. Spread meringue over lemon filling and use a spoon to shape. Use a kitchen blowtorch to lightly colour meringue, alternatively bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. 
20. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. If meringue has been browned in the oven, allow to cool for about 30 minutes before refrigerating. Serve chilled.  

11 ProPoints per serve (10 serves) or 10 ProPoints per serve (12 serves).

Notes:

You can use fresh lemon juice or bottled lemon juice for the filling. Either is fine, but freshly squeezed juice will give a zestier flavour.

Anzac Biscuits

Makes 18 

Another Australian favourite. Anzac biscuits are commonly found in cafes and on supermarket shelves these days, but these iconic biscuits were originally made to send in care packs to the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) serving overseas during World War 1, since they could be made without eggs and kept well on long overseas voyages to Europe. They can be made crunchy or soft (I prefer crunchy), are super easy to make and store well in an airtight container for around 1-2 weeks.

For added crunch and texture, I recommend adding some coconut to the mix if you have it on hand, but this is an optional extra. 

What's in them? 

100g butter, cut into cubes
70g golden syrup
1/2tsp vanilla bean paste
1tsp bi-carbonate soda
130g rolled oats
150g plain flour
70g caster sugar 

How do I make them? 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C electric or 160°C fan-forced. Line 2 large baking tins with baking paper and spray lightly with olive oil. 

2. Place butter and golden syrup in mixing bowl and melt for 2min / 60°C / speed 2. 

3. Add vanilla and bi-carb soda and combine for 5sec / speed 3. 

4. Add oats, flour and caster sugar and mix for 10sec / reverse / speed 4. Scrape down sides of the bowl and mix again for 10sec / reverse / speed 4. 

5. Shape into 18 round balls using hands. Place on trays and flatten with a fork. Leave about 3cm between each biscuit to allow for spreading. 

6. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on trays for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

3 ProPoints per biscuit.

Notes: 

For extra crunch and texture, add 50g dessicated coconut when adding the oats and flour and reduce the amount of oats to 80g. This will increase the ProPoints value by 1 for each biscuit. 

Lamingtons

Makes 15

Christmas and new year's eve is over, so I'm thinking ahead to Australia Day now. I whipped up these lamingtons today and am going to dedicate this month to cooking, Thermomix style, some more traditional Australian favourites on the lighter side. I'm thinking pavlova, anzac biscuits, a meat pie and a juicy lamb crusted leg roast with homemade mint sauce (and maybe even a requested lemon meringue pie)!

What's in them?

Sponge
4 eggs
110g white sugar
1tsp vanilla bean paste
25g unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
55g self-raising flour
50g cornflour


Icing
40g cocoa
275g white sugar
140g skim milk
130g dessicated coconut

How do I make them?

1. Preheat oven to 170°C fan forced or 190°C electric. Spray a 16x26cm lamington baking tin with cooking spray and line with baking paper.

2. Place sugar into mixing bowl and mill 20sec / speed 10.

3. Insert butterfly.  Add eggs and beat 7min / 50°C / speed 3.

4. Add cubed butter and vanilla bean paste and combine 5sec / speed 4.

5. Remove butterfly. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula, add flours and mix 10sec / speed 3.

6. Pour sponge mixture into prepared tin and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until sponge is golden and springs back to the touch.  Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. To make icing, place sugar and cocoa in mixing bowl and mill 20sec / speed 10.  Add milk and mix 20sec / speed 4. Pour into a medium sized mixing bowl.

8. Trim edges off sponge and cut into 15 squares. Place coconut in a second medium sized mixing bowl.

9. Using tongs, dip each piece of sponge into icing mixture. Let any excess drip off then place iced sponge into bowl with coconut and turn to coat all sides. Set aside on a rack over a tray until icing has set. Repeat with remaining sponge pieces.

5 ProPoints per serve.

Pumpkin Bread

Serves 12

I'm telling you....this is good. If you've tried pumpkin bread before, then you will know what I'm talking about. If not, you need to give it a go. Each slice is moist and jam packed with pumpkin and cinnamon spice flavour. And those flavours develop and it gets even better a day or two after its baked, so don't be tempted to polish off the whole thing straight away. 

What's in it?

400g peeled butternut pumpkin, cut into 2-3cm pieces

70g unsalted butter

140g sugar

125g skim milk

2 eggs

1tsp vanilla bean paste

300g self-raising flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2tsp pumpkin seeds

How do I make it?

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray large loaf tin with oil and line with baking paper. 

2. Place 1L water in mixing bowl and bring to Varoma temperature for 8-10min / Varoma / speed 3.  

3. Cook pumpkin in varoma tray, placed on top of mixing bowl lid, for 10min / Varoma / speed 3. Once cooked, pour water out of mixing bowl, place cooked pumpkin in bowl and puree for 20sec / speed 5. Remove pureed pumpkin into another bowl and set aside to cool. Wash and dry mixing bowl. 

4. Place butter in mixing bowl and melt for 2min / 60°C / speed 1. Add sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and reserved cooked pumpkin puree and mix for 5sec / speed 3. 

4. Add flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix for 10sec / speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix for a further 10sec / speed 4. 

6. Spoon into prepared loaf tin, level top and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes, until skewer inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. 

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. Delicious served warm, toasted or cool.  

5 ProPoints per slice. 

Notes:

Feel free to make this recipe even better by adding some pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips or raisins with the flours.