Chocolate meringue pie

Method

1 Place the flour, sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and give it a quick burst at high speed to reduce it to a crumb-like consistency. Add the egg yolk and then with the motor running trickle in just enough milk for the dough to cling together. Transfer the pastry to a large bowl and bring it together into a ball using your hands. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

2 Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) gas mark 5.

3 Lightly flour a worksurface and roll out the pastry thinly. Use it to line a deep 23cm-wide tart tin with a removeable base, slipping the base underneath the pastry and lifting it into the tin. Line the case with foil and baking beans and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and cook for another 10 minutes until golden. Leave to cool.

4 In the meantime make the filling. Blend the cornflour with about a third of the water in a bowl. Bring the remaining water to the boil in a small non-stick saucepan with the cocoa and 100g of the sugar, whisking until smooth. Add the cornflour solution and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick and silky. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir to melt, then stir in the butter and the egg yolks. Smooth this on top of the pastry base and chill for an hour until it firms up.

5 Reheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan oven) gas mark 5, if you've turned it off. Whisk the 4 egg whites (including the white left over from the pastry) in a large bowl until risen, using a hand-held electric whisk, then whisk in the remaining sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. Spoon the meringue evenly over the surface of the filling, taking it up to the crust, and bringing it up into peaks. Bake the pie for 30 minutes or until the surface of the meringue is lightly golden and crusty.

Leave to cool, then chill for half a day or overnight without covering. During this time it will give out a sticky syrup; don't worry about this, it adds to the generous lushness. Serve chilled or at room temperature about 30 minutes after taking it out of the fridge.