Mum makes delicious lemon meringue pies in the $29 Kmart pie maker - and it took just 30 minutes
- An amateur baker made lemon meringue pies in the $29 Kmart pie maker
- It was her first time to use the gadget and she said they 'worked out perfectly'
- She made her own shortcrust pastry using a recipe from Sydney chef Donna Hay
- She followed a simple recipe for lemon curd that takes just 15 minutes to make
A mother has made a batch of bakery-standard lemon meringue pies in a $29 pie maker in just 30 minutes.
Australian mum-of-two Amanda Ray shared photos of her pies in a cookery group on Facebook, telling members how she used the Kmart gadget and three simple recipes to make the pastry, filling and meringue topping from scratch.
She said it was her first time using the machine and was 'so happy' when the pies 'worked out perfectly'.
Ms Ray made her own shortcrust pastry using a simple three-ingredient recipe from Sydney chef Donna Hay, which requires 300 grams of plain flour, 145 grams of butter and three tablespoons of water.
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Ms Ray's homemade lemon meringue pies which she baked in the $29 Kmart pie maker
She said it was her first time using the machine and was 'so happy' when the pies 'worked out perfectly'
The flour and butter should be blitzed in a food processor for 60 seconds until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then mixed with cold water which loosens it out into a smooth dough, which should be cooked for about 10 minutes.
The trick to making perfectly soft and flaky shortcrust pastry is to work quickly and lightly. The more you handle the dough, the denser and tougher it will be.
Flour contains gluten which develops as you touch it, causing the pastry to stiffen.
Chefs advise gently kneading dough for a few seconds, then wrapping it in plastic and refrigerating for half an hour before rolling it out.
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Ms Ray's shortcrust pastry waiting to be cooked in the pie maker, which she made from flour, butter and water
For the filling, Ms Ray followed an easy recipe for lemon curd from food blogger Lindsey Johnson, which takes just 15 minutes to make.
It requires one cup of sugar and lemon juice, four large eggs, four egg yolks - separated from the whites - two teaspoons of lemon zest and a cup of butter.
The sugar, lemon zest, egg yolks and whole eggs should be whisked together until light in colour, then mixed with the lemon juice over a medium-high heat, taking care not to bring the mixture to the boil.
Despite its basic ingredients, lemon curd is notoriously difficult to perfect because if it boils or even slightly overheats, the eggs will curdle.
This problem is especially common in curds that use whole eggs as well as egg yolks. Because the eggs whites cook at a lower temperature, they're more prone to coagulation - meaning they form into cooked chunks.
While curdled eggs don't ruin the flavour, they create an unappetising lumpy texture that requires careful straining and is often impossible to remove.
The cooked shells filled with homemade lemon curd, made from one cup of sugar and lemon juice, four large eggs, four egg yolks - separated from the whites - two teaspoons of lemon zest and a cup of butter
To finish the pies, Ms Ray made the meringue by whisking the four egg whites leftover from the lemon curd with a cup of caster sugar and a drop of vanilla extract.
Once mixed, meringue should be pure white and stiff to touch.
She topped each pie with a dollop of meringue and toasted them under the grill for two minutes to cook, creating a crisp texture and sweet, caramelised flavour.
Ms Ray's meringue, made from four egg whites, caster sugar and vanilla extract
Home cooks applauded Ms Ray for taking the time to make each element of her pies instead of using store bought filling and ready-to-roll pastry.
'Well done Amanda. It's such a great feeling when you make your own ingredients from scratch,' said one woman.
'These are fabulous - wonderful baking,' said another.
Others said the pies looked 'delicious' and had inspired them to buy a pie maker from Kmart to make their own.
