Prepare Ahead
Keep some mint sprigs, orange zest and strawberries back to decorate your pie before serving.
Instructions
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1 Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6.
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2 Roll out the pastry on a flour-dusted surface and use to line a 25cm loose-bottomed flan tin. Line with baking parchment and beans and bake blind for 20 minutes.
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3 Remove the beans and parchment and cook for 10 minutes until the case is golden.
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4 Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
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5 To make the filling place the strawberries into a food processor with the orange zest and juice, Pimm’s, half the sugar and the mint. Blend until smooth then warm through in a saucepan.
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6 Whisk the egg yolks with the cornflour and 1 tbsp of cold water, then whisk into the hot strawberry mixture and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
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7 Stir in the butter and continue stirring until it melts. Spoon into the cooked pastry case and allow to cool, then chill for 2 hours.
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8 Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then add the rest of the sugar a spoonful at a time and continue whisking until they become thick, stiff and glossy. Pile on top of the filling and bake in the oven at 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 for 6-7 minutes until pale golden.
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9 To serve, decorate the top with mint sprigs, fresh strawberry slices and orange zest.
Ingredients
- 300g shortcrust pastry
- 500g fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 orange, juice and finely grated zest only
- 150ml Pimm's
- 300g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 5 eggs, separated
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 80g butter, cubed
Serves 8
Total time required 1 hr 10 mins
- Preparation time: 20 mins
- Cooking time: 50 mins
- Other time: Chill for 2 hours