But of course! These kitties will jump at any chance to party.

<plonk>

a.s (you know, I'm now REALLY glad that you did not get the cat.) PLONK

Lemon Meringue Pie

PASTRY
100g/4oz plain flour

65g/2½oz butter, chilled and cubed

25g/1oz ground almonds

25g/1oz caster sugar

1 egg yolk, size 3

FILLING

100g/4oz caster sugar

3 lemons

50g/2oz cornflour

3 egg yolks size 2

MERINGUE

3 egg whites, size 2

175g/6oz caster sugar

STEP BY STEP

To make pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter. Rub
the fat into the flour between fingertips until the mixture resembles
fine breadcrumbs. Stir the ground almonds and the sugar into the
mixture.

Using a round-bladed knife, stir in the egg yolk and 1-2 Tbsp iced
water, until the mixture begins to come together. With floured hands,
gather together to form a soft pliable dough.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Take care
not to over-knead at this stage as the pastry will become tough on
cooking. Wrap the pastry in covering film and chill in the fridge for 30
minutes.

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 23cm/9in circle. Lift
it on to the rolling pin and lay it into a 20cm/8in fluted,
loose-bottomed flan tin. With your knuckles ease pastry into the base
and up the sides. Trim edges by rolling the rolling pin over flan rim.
Chill for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200° C/400° F/Gas Mark 6. Place a baking sheet in
the oven. To bake the pastry case blind: prick the base of the pastry
case with a fork and line with a circle of grease-proof paper, then
weight it down with ceramic or dried baking beans. Bake on the preheated
baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the lining and bake
for further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is crisp and light golden.

To make the filling, put the sugar in a pan with 450ml/¾pt water. Heat
gently until dissolved. Pare the rind from the lemons with a knife or
potato peeler. Add to the pan and boil for 5 minutes.

Squeeze juice from lemons and blend with cornflour. Strain the lemon
rind mixture into the corn-flour mix and stir well. Return to pan. Cook,
stirring, until thickened.

Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks until the mixture is
smooth and glossy.Cool for 10 minutes.

Spoon the filling into the flan case and level the surface with a
palette knife.

To make the meringue topping, whisk the egg whites until very stiff. Use
an electric whisk for this. A quick tip to test if the eggs are whisked
enough is to carefully and slowly turn the bowl upside- down. If they
slide about in the bowl they need further whisking. Gradually whisk in
the sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking well after each addition. The
meringue should be smooth and glossy in consistency and peak when the
whisk is lifted from the mixture.

Pile the mixture on top of the lemon filling and swirl the meringue into
peaks with the back of a spoon. Do make sure the meringue covers the
whole of the lemon filling so that there are no gaps between meringue
and the pastry edge, otherwise the lemon filling will weep.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8-12 minutes until the top is pale
golden. Remove from the tin and serve hot or cold with lashings of
cream. (Should be eaten on day of cooking.)

Wow, has it been 2 years already???  Time flies...
Happy adoption day, Sammy.  Bet you're happy you went in that trap now

--
Britta
========================================
Belated Happy Adoptavery Samuel.

What is Caster sugar? I've seen it before in Brit rescipes and am
curious.
Suz&Spicey

Happy Samuel!  Getting caught in that trap was better luck than he
thought at first!  How is he now?  pics?

--Fil