Gooseberry meringue pie

Pastry dough

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, add the butter and rub by hand to form an even, crumbly mixture. Add the egg yolks, mix quickly to form a soft dough – do not knead. Flatten the dough, cover and chill for approx. 30 mins. On a lightly floured surface, roll out ⅔ of the dough into a square approx. 4 mm thick, transfer to the prepared tin. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Shape the remainder of the dough into a roll, place around the edge of the tin, press firmly and pull upwards approx. 4 cm, line with baking paper, weigh down with dried pulses.

To blind bake:

Approx. 15 mins. in the lower half of an oven preheated to 180°C. Remove, allow to cool slightly in the tin.

Filling

Spread the gooseberries over the pastry base. Whisk the apple juice in a pan with the cornflour, egg yolks, vanilla pod and vanilla seeds, bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the mixture thickens and turns creamy, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the custard through a sieve and over the gooseberries, smooth down.

Return to the oven

Approx. 35 mins. in the lower half of the preheated oven. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, remove the tin frame. Slide the pie onto a cake plate, leave to cool. Cover and chill for approx. 2 hrs.

Beaten egg whites

Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. Gradually add the sugar, continue to beat until the egg whites turn glossy. Spread the beaten egg whites on top of the pie, scorch with a blowtorch.