Dorothy's Birthday Cake

My beautiful daughter is 15 today and this is her all-time favourite birthday cake. She requested it first a few years ago after my fantastic sister went to a lot of trouble to make it for our first GAPS Christmas. It was the most wonderful dessert on Christmas day and it has become a family favourite for all kinds of special occasions. No-one would ever suspect that it was any different from a standard lemon meringue pie, except that it tastes even better! There is a bit of work involved but believe me it is worth it! I have been asked for this recipe so many times over the last 4 years so I'm sorry you've had to wait so long!!!! I like to make the pastry the night before you need the pie, then make the filling in the morning, then make the meringue and put it all together just before you need it. That way, you don't feel like you've been cooking all day!

Lemon Meringue Pie

First make the pastry:

180g of ground almonds, 

60g butter, cold and cut into pieces

1 tablespoon honey

a pinch each of baking soda and salt

Just put everything into your food processor and blitz it until it starts to form a ball. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Next you need to roll it out to fit your tin. I use a 9" springform tin but you could also use a pie plate. The rolling out is the tricky bit. Pastry made with almond flour needs to be handled a bit more delicately than regular pastry so use a sheet or two of parchment. Flatten your ball of dough onto parchment, I like to use a long piece and just fold it over the dough. Then roll it with a rolling pin until it is about 2 inches wider than your tin. Carefully lay the pastry into your greased tin, you need to do this very gently! Stick the pastry to the sides of the tin and cut the top so it is even. Stick it back in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up, while you heat up the oven to 170 C, gas mark 3. Cook in the oven for about 12 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool.

For the lemon filling you need: 

6 egg yolks

125g honey

120ml lemon juice (juice 2-3 lemons)

60g butter, cold and cut into pieces

Put the egg yolks, honey and lemon juice into a glass bowl and sit it over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk just enough to blend fully. Then add the butter - add a few pieces at a time and whisk gently until the pieces melt. Continue this way until all the butter has been added. Then let the mixture cook gently without stirring for 10 minutes until it is set. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. When cool, spoon the lemon filling into your pie base and use a knife to level it.

And lastly make the meringue:

4 egg whites

a pinch of salt

3 tablespoons of honey

Preheat your oven to 190 C, gas mark 5. Put your egg whites and a pinch of salt in a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Slowly drizzle the honey in as you keep whisking. When the last of the honey is mixed in, the mixture should form stiff peaks and be slightly shiny. Spoon the meringue onto the top of your pie base. Use a large spoon to form peaks. Bake in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, keeping a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. Without sugar, the meringue mix won't get very stiff, but it is still sweet and sticky and delicious!