Lime pie....

I love watching The Great British Bake Off, I think it's great television and without fail makes my mouth water! This week one of the contestants made a key lime pie and it looked absolutely beautiful. This is the poor mans version as unfortunately key limes are nowhere to be found on our emerald isle.......

For the biscuit base you will need;

16 digestive biscuits
60g caster sugar
1tsp ground ginger
180g unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Place the biscuits, sugar ginger and melted butter into a processor and whizz until it resembles sand.
Pat down into a pie dish and also up the sides.
Place in the oven for 15 mins or until golden brown.
Place on a wire rack to cool.

For the filling;

4 egg yolks
Juice of 5 limes (reserve the zest)
397g tin of condensed milk

Beat the egg yolks until creamy.
Gradually add in the condensed milk and combine well.
Pour in the lime juice and stir in.
Pour onto the biscuit base and place back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack before refrigerating overnight.

For the topping;

Once again I turn to my fail proof meringue topping from Nigella!

2 egg whites
150g caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar

Whisk the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl until soft peaks form.
Add in the sugar a spoonful at a time and whisk till glossy.
Add in the cornflour and vinegar and give it one final whisk.
Spoon into piping bag.

Once the lime pie has been chilled to perfection in your refrigerator overnight it's time to decorate! I used a Wilton icing nozzle tip number 22 to pipe little meringue kisses around the edge of the pie. Place under a preheated grill for seconds just to slightly darken, keep an eye on it as it can burn in nanoseconds!
Sprinkle the reserved lime zest around the edge to give it a perfect finishing touch.