Lime Meringue Slice

I love a good slice! It’s a great treat to take to a friend’s house, and when you cheat and use a pre-made lime curd, this doesn’t take any longer than making and icing (frosting) a cake. I also think it looks just a little bit fancier and more grown up than cake. It’s just that little bit sickly sweet too, so I’m not tempted to eat it all in one sitting.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
Base 
90g (3.5oz) butter, softened
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 egg
1 cup plain flour

Filling
1 jar lime curd (I used a 370g (12.5oz) jar of Yackandandah curd from my supermarket)

Meringue 3 egg whites
3/4 cup caster sugar

Procedure
1.  Pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a slice pan with baking paper (I used a lamington pan that is 30 x 20cm or 12 x 8inch).
2.  Beat butter, sugar and egg in a bowl until pale. Stir in the flour.
3.  Press the dough into the prepared pan and prick all over with a fork. It’s a thin layer spread out across the whole pan, so put small spoonfuls across the pan and then spread it out and press it down. Don’t worry if it looks very thin, it will rise when it’s baked.
4.  Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes in the pan.
5.  Increase the temperature in the oven to 200°C (400°F).
6.  Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form (ie when you pull the beater out of the egg, a little peak appears and curves over at the top, then holds its shape). Add the sugar a little at a time (maybe 5 or so batches), beating until the sugar dissolves each time and the mixture looks nice and glossy.
7.  Spread the jar of lime curd over the base. Then, top with meringue, making small ridges as you go to give the top some texture.
8.  Bake in the oven for 3 minutes or until the top is a light brown. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before cutting into slices.

You could use lemon curd instead of lime curd, or you could make the slice in a round spring-form pan to make a pie.

What are your favourite slice recipes?