Method

line large pie plate with shortcrust pastry and prick and partly cook for 10 minutes in 180c oven.

Meanwhile boil milk in saucepan and thicken with cornflour and add sugar. Cook cornflour custard for 3 minutes.

Place yolks only in small bowl and beat lightly. Put whites in 2nd dry bowl ready to whip and put aside. Add lemon zest grated from lemon, juice and caster sugar and combine.

IMPORTANT - Take from the heat the cornflour custard and do not cook further. Add the lemon mixture all at once to custard and stir to combine. Do not return to heat but pour into the pastry case that is partly cooked.

Whip meringue. I use as many egg whites as I have but if eggs are large 3 should be enough. You can add more if you want a larger meringue topping and use the extra yoks in an oven baked custard (recipe can be supplied) just add extra 2ozs (2 tablsp.) caster sugar for each egg white.

Pile meringue on top of custard mixture and put in a cool oven for about 1 hour until crisp. Ovens vary so hard to give time accurately but the best meringue is cooked very slowly and will dry out in an oven on warm or lowest setting.