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Lemon Meringue Slice

Your favourite pie in slice form!
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lemon meringue slice

This Lemon Meringue Slice is your favourite pie in slice form!

Two buttery biscuit layers, a tangy lemon filling and sweet meringue topping make up this absolutely divine slice.

The recipe is from the pages of Nana Ling’s handwritten recipe books, so it’s about 80 years old.

While it’s a little fiddly to put the layers together, the effort is certainly worth it when you skin your teeth into the results!

Lemon Meringue Slice

Layers of sweet, lemony goodness

This Lemon Meringue Slice consists of a biscuit layer, a lemon filling layer, another biscuit layer and then the meringue topping.

The ingredients you’ll need are:

  • butter
  • caster sugar
  • eggs
  • SR flour
  • condensed milk
  • lemons
  • salt
  • cream of tartar.

Scroll to the end of this post to find the recipe card which outlines the precise measurements for the ingredients.

lemon meringue slice method

Tips for working with the biscuit layers

The step-by step method is outlined in detail below. It’s fairly straightforward, apart from rolling out the biscuit layers – which can get a little fiddly.

I’ve included pictures in the recipe card below to help you handle the biscuit layers and put the slice together more smoothly.

If you’re still finding it difficult to work with these biscuit layers, I suggest dusting your working bench with a little more flour or popping the dough into the fridge for 15 minutes before handling it.

The original recipe

Keep scrolling for the tested and tweaked version in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

lemon meringue slice recipe
lemon meringue slice

Lemon Meringue Slice

Your favourite pie in slice form!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian
Keyword: lemon meringue slice
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 24 squares
Calories: 97kcal

Ingredients

Biscuit base and layer

  • 50 grams butter
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups SR flour
  • pinch salt

Lemon Filling

  • 2/3 cup condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest (from 1/2 lemon)
  • 1 egg yolk

Meringue

  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • pinch salt
  • pinch cream of tartar

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius, fan-forced).
  • Grease a slice tin (approx 28 x 18cm) and line with baking paper, leaving paper overhanging at sides to assist with removal of slice later.
  • Cream butter and sugar for biscuit base and layer.
  • Whisk the egg lightly and add to the mixture. Mix well to combine.
  • Fold in sifted flour and salt to form a pastry dough. Divide into two and set aside.
  • Make the filling by combing all filling ingredients and whisking together.
  • Make the meringue by beating egg white to form soft peaks and then gradually adding the sugar and beating to form stiff peaks. Fold the salt and cream of tartar into the meringue mixture.
  • To put the slice together, first roll out half of the pastry dough on a work bench dusted with flour. Place in the bottom of the slice tin, using a bread knife to cut the layer to fit the tin and using your fingers to spread and even out the pastry.
    pastry dough cut to shape
  • Pour lemon filling over the pastry layer.
  • Roll out the second half of the pastry dough and cut to the shape of the tin. You can do this by placing the tin on top of the rolled out pastry and cutting to shape with a bread knife.
    cutting biscuit layer to fit tin
  • Very carefully, roll half of the pastry onto a rolling pin and use a spatula to lift the remaining half of the pastry and place as the next layer in the slice tin.
    adding third layer to slice
  • Spread the meringue over the top of the pastry layer and use a spoon to create little peaks in the meringue.
    spreading meringue topping
  • Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
  • Allow to cool in the tin and then lift out and cut into squares.

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe Rating




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Doris

Saturday 28th of August 2021

Is this made with condensed milk or sweetened condensed milk?

Libby Hakim

Sunday 29th of August 2021

Hi Doris. It is sweetened condensed milk (which is generally referred to as just "condensed milk" in Australia I believe and unsweetened condensed milk is "evaporated milk"). Happy cooking!

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