Kali Chai & Apricot Meringue Pies

A great dessert or afternoon tea treat: it's not so hard, and it is delicious. It's good to do it in bits throughout your day so you are not waiting around for things to cool down. As we use home grown, free range eggs, you may need to add a fifth egg if you are using smaller, store-bought ones.

• Pastry

Buy some shortcrust pasty or make some. Half cook it for a few minutes in tart shells with some weight on it.

• Kali Chai
• half a tin of pie apricots 
• 4 tablespoons of corn flour / cornstarch
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• (Optional) tablespoon of butter

Brew some The Devotea Kali Chai  (try our Star Spangled Chai instead if you are in the USA) to double strength - brew 500mls using 4 teaspoons of tea. Strain and add to a saucepan with the apricots and sugar. Bring to just boiling and turn off, Once it cools, blitz it and then add the beaten egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until it thickens, Add the butter just before turning it off if you wish for a creamier texture

• 4 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• few drops of vanilla

Add the egg whites to a mixer and set it going as it mixes, add the sugar on tablespoon at a time and the vanilla. Stop when the meringue is thick enough to cling to an upside down spoon.
 
To assemble, spoon the filling into the tart cases and  pile some meringue on top. About 8 minutes in a medium oven will brown them nicely.

FOR A HEALTHIER OPTION: Skip the pastry, use half the sugar and some Splenda spoon-for-spoon and cook in ramekin or baking dish