Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C Fan, Gas Mark 6). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry thinly and cut out 20 x 6cm (2 ¼ inch) rounds, re-rolling as necessary. Fit each circle of pastry into mini non-stick muffin tins.

Neaten the edges and place a piece of baking parchment in the centre of each. Fill with baking beans or raw rice.

Bake for 7-8 minutes until lightly golden round the edges. Carefully remove the baking parchment containing the baking beans or rice. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through. Put the tin on a wire rack and leave to cool. When cold, carefully slip the pastry cases out of the tin and put on a baking tray.

Meanwhile, put the lemon juice and rind in a jug and fill up to 150ml ( ¼ pt) with cold water. Put the cornflour in a small saucepan with 50g (2oz) sugar and mix in a little of the lemony water to make a paste. Stir in the remaining lemony water and cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until just boiling then simmer gently for 1 minute to thicken. Remove from the heat and add a few drops Yellow Gel Food Colour if using. Carefully pour into the pastry cases and set aside to cool completely.

In a clean bowl, make up the Egg White Powder as directed. Add the Cream of Tartar and whisk until very stiff. Whisk in the remaining sugar to make a thick, glossy meringue. Stir in the Lemon Extract.

Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a large closed star nozzle. Starting in the middle of each pie, pipe in an anti-clockwise direction to cover completely and make a small swirl. Pipe swirls of meringue on all the pies and bake in the oven, as before, for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Serve warm or cold.