Is Spring just a few days away? One can only hope.

Shopping malls are not usually pretty places, but our local shopping centre was a feast for the eye this morning after several weeks of really cold weather.

Sanity is slowly returning to Apartment du Fudge as we gradually settle into our new life back in Sydney.  There were the usual glitches which come with moves - internet refusing to co-operate, discovering that the removalists managed to break both our printers beyond repair, etc, etc.  However, these painful experiences will soon fade and life will return to normal.

I have had a few sales this month on Etsy and MadeIt which is wonderful, but I am now running a little low on stock which means I must get back into sewing mode.  All I have to do is unpack the balance of my fabrics and find a place to put it all.  Then maybe I can access the Bernina which is currently skulking away in the built-in wardrobe, trying to stay out of mischief. 

This dress was featured in Staff Picks (staff member Tian) on MadeIt this week, which was a thrill to see.

It was my son-in-law's birthday on Saturday, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to test out the new oven.  The lemon meringue pie is one of those recipes handed down over the generations and it was a relief to see it come out of the oven successfully.  Here's the recipe which you may want to try.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Pastry: (makes enough for a 25cm (10 in) base, rolled thinly

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain flour

90g butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons castor sugar

2 egg yolks

rind 1 lemon, grated

1 or 2 teaspoons lemon juice as needed

Filling:

4 tablespoons plain flour

4 tablespoons cornflour

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

¾ cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1¼ cups water

90g butter or substitute

4 egg yolks

 

Meringue:

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons water

Pinch salt

¾ cup castor sugar

 

Method

Sift flour into a bowl.  Add chopped butter to flour, rub in until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Place the egg yolks, lemon rind and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice in the centra.  Extra lemon can be added as needed.  Gradually work the flour mixture in and then knead.  If it looks dry, sprinkle the extra lemon juice over the top.  Mix until it is smooth.  Form into a disk and refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface to fit 25 cm pie plate.

Trim and decorate edges. Prick base and sides of pastry with fork. Line with baking paper and weigh down with pastry weights or uncooked rice.  Bake in moderately hot oven (200°) 10 to 15 minutes, remove the pastry weights and baking paper and bake until lightly browned. Allow to cool.

Combine sifted flours, lemon rind, lemon juice and sugar in saucepan. Add water, blend until smooth, stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. This is important. The mixture must boil. Reduce heat, stir a further 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter and lightly beaten egg yolks; stir until butter has melted. Cool.

Spread cold lemon filling evenly into pastry case. Combine egg whites, water and salt in a small bowl or electric mixer. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beat well until sugar has dissolved. Spoon on top of lemon filling, spreading meringue to edges of pie, to seal; peak meringue decoratively with knife.

Bake in moderate oven (180°) 5 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool, then refrigerate.

Bon appetit!