My family’s culinary icon – there's nothing quite like seeing those sugary peaks fresh from the oven.

Ingredients

Base
200g of sweet shortcrust pastry

Filling
¼ cup of cornflour
1 cup sugar
2 tsps lemon rind
½ cup lemon juice
¾ cup water
3 eggs – separated
1 tbsp butter

20cm flan dish.

Method

1. Wash your hands with cold water, then dry. And try to keep them cool throughout.

2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface.

3. Line the dish with pastry and bake blind (mum used to put uncooked butter beans onto tinfoil) at 190 degrees C for about 20 minutes.

3. Remove the beans, or whatever you’ve used and return the pastry to the oven for 1 minute to dry out.

The Filling
1. Mix cornflour, sugar, lemon rind and juice in a saucepan until smooth.

2. Add water.

3.Cook over a medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens, stirring all the time.

4. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little and then add egg yolks and butter.

The Topping
1. Beat egg whites until they stand up in peaks.

2. Beat in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time until thick and glossy.

3. Add vanilla.

4.Pour the filling into the pastry base and spoon meringue over the top.

5. Return to the oven for 10 minutes – or until golden.

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