Occasions call for something special, when only the zest will do! This is a yummy take on a lemon meringue pie that you can’t tell is low-carb. It’s a meringue lemon pie as the meringue really is the main filling (I am so biased, it’s my favourite bit!) It’s also the least carby element and can really make a little slice go a long way.
It really is worth taking the minute or two to line the base of your tin with a liner, or cutting out a circle of baking paper. If you’re going to serve your pie outside of the pan, I recommend add longer strips of baking paper with the ends sticking out. This means you can lift it from the tin without damaging your meringue.
Don’t panic if you lose lemon pips in the filling, or little bits of cooked egg form up- these will be taken out before baking!
The meringue can speak for itself – don’t forget to lick the spoon! (subject to your thoughts on salmonella, of course)
The pie needs to chill out and set for 3-4 hours in the fridge, so make sure you leave yourself enough preparation time if you have an eating deadline!
Here’s the nutritional information for one portion of this recipe. Please note this is calculated in Cronometer, as some of the values from Yumprint were a little odd and I wanted to make sure this captured all the ingredients properly.
- 2 cups almond flour
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sweetener (I prefer an eythritol-stevia blend of about 0.5% stevia)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sweetener
- 2 tbsp unflavoured gelatin
- 1/2 tsp xantham gum
- 6 egg whites
- 1/4 cup granulated sweetener
- 1/4 cup powdered sweetener
- 1/3 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 1. Preheat oven to 175°C/350°F.
- 2. Melt butter in a convenient way, and add to the rest of the crust ingredients in an appropriate sized bowl. Mix together until you have a loose, crumbly dough.
- 3. Line your pie tin with a circle of baking paper at the bottom.
- 4. Press dough into pan to make an even crust.
- 5. Bake for 10minutes in the middle of the oven, and then leave to cool.
- 1. On a low heat, melt the butter in a pan.
- 2. Remove pan from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice and sweetener.
- 3. Whisk in egg yolks and pop the pan back on a low heat, keep whisking until thickened.
- 4. Pour through a sieve to catch any egg whites or pips, then whisk in gelatine and xantham gum.
- 5. Set aside until the meringue is ready.
- 1. Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
- 2. Add salt and tartar to the egg whites and beat until aerated but still sloppy.
- 3. Add vanilla and sweeteners and whisk until stiff.
- 1. Pour filling into base.
- 2. Apply meringue mixture on top, dolloping for prettiness.
- 3. Bake in the middle of the oven for at least 20minutes, until the meringue is just first.
- 4. Chill for 3-4 hours before serving - temptation leads to a sloppy mess!
- On sweeteners- I prefer an eythritol-stevia blend of about 0.5% stevia. If the sweetener available has a higher content of stevia, I'll balance it out proportionally by adding extra Erythritol and then measuring for the recipe. Everyone is different- try out different brands and blends and see what works best for you!