MAKE the most of the last few weeks of summer with this delicious lemon meringue pie created by Dorset chef Mat Follas.

Mat says: “I’ll be sad to see the end of the summer break as its been a delightful time with kids and dogs enjoying time together.

“At this time of year I try very hard to make the most of my favourite seasonal ingredients. Jams, chutneys and other delicious seasonal treats, not forgetting to make some sloe or bramble gin for the longer evenings.

“One of the late seasonal ingredients, from the continent, that I love, is lemon and my favourite cake, lemon drizzle, is nearly always on the counter at Bramble cafe.

“The health benefits of eating lemons are so numerous, from treating sore throats to indigestion, the many vitamins and minerals they contain mean they’re a boost for your body at any time of year.

“Obviously, I like mine combined with sticky, sugary meringue and buttery, melt-in-the-mouth pastry, but that’s just me.”

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Prepare 30 minutes, cook 30 minutes.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pack of ready-rolled short crust pastry

5 eggs

120g icing sugar

150g caster sugar

Zest & juice of 3 large lemons

100g unsalted butter

2 tblsp cornflour

Pastry tart base

We need to blind-bake the tart bases.

On a floured surface, roll-out the pastry to a thickness of a £1 coin.

Cut to roughly the right size and gently place the pastry in floured 4” tart tins, mould it into the corners with your fingers; don’t tidy the edges yet because the pastry will shrink when it is baked (save a little of the pastry in case cracks or holes form during the blind baking).

Prick with a fork all over, to stop it from rising and place them in a preheated oven at 180°C for eight minutes.

Remove from the oven, check for any holes or cracks and patch them with your spare pastry. Allow the tarts to cool for five minutes, glaze it with a little beaten egg white (this will seal the base of the tarts) and place back in the oven for a further two minutes.

Remove from the oven and trim the edges with a sharp knife.

Lemon filling

Separate four of the egg yolks from their whites.

Put aside the whites to make the meringue. Place the yolks in a bowl, whisk, then add one tblsp cornflour, the zest and juice of the lemons and one whole egg. Mix.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the caster sugar. As soon as it has melted, add the egg mixture and stir continuously on a very low heat until it thickens; it should drop from your spoon, rather than pour from it. Take it off the heat immediately and continue stirring for another minute or so, to stop any hot-spots forming. Set aside.

Meringue

Whisk the four egg whites, until firm peaks form. Whilst continuing to mix, slowly add the icing sugar and finally the remaining one tblsp cornflour.

To assemble

Pour the lemon filling into the tart bases and level it with a palate knife. Carefully, spoon the meringue mixture on the top (start around the sides and move towards the middle, otherwise it will sink). Place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes.