Lemon Meringue Pie

By Danilo Alfaro

culinaryatrs.about.com

Lemon meringue pie.

Photo © Maren Caruso / Getty Images

Lemon Meringue Pie

For this lemon meringue pie recipe, we prepare the lemon filling, which is sort of a sweet, lemony custard made with water instead of milk, then pour it into a pre-baked pie shell and top it with stiffly beaten egg whites, and then just brown it in the oven for a few minutes.

You can buy a pre-baked pie shell, in which case you'd start at step #5 below. If you want to make your pie shell from scratch, you'll need a half batch of this flaky pie crust recipe.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• One half batch flaky pie crust (see above) or one pre-baked pie shell.
• 4 large eggs
• 1¼ cups sugar, plus another ½ cup for the meringue
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ cups cold water
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 to 3 lemons; don't use the bottled kind)
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar

Preparation:

1. Roll the dough into a round that's about 1/8-inch thick and 12 inches across. Fit the round over a 9-inch pie tin. Press the dough all the way down firmly without stretching it.


2. Flute the edges of the dough between your thumb and forefinger and trim off any excess. Refrigerate the pie shell for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 375°F.


3. Pierce the bottom of the pie crust all over with a fork, then line it with parchment paper and fill it with baking weights. You can also use uncooked beans.


4. Bake for about 30 minutes, until it's slightly browned, then take it out, remove the parchment and the weights and let it cool.


5. Set your oven to 400°F.


6. Separate the eggs. Set the whites aside at room temperature, and beat the yolks in a large mixing bowl.


7. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the water, sugar, salt and cornstarch. Bring it to a boil and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.


8. Remove from heat and let it cool for a minute, then vigorously whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks.


9. Continue whisking the hot mixture into the egg yolks, adding it gradually, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly, until it's all combined.


10. Now return the mixture to your saucepan and bring it back to a boil over low heat, for another minute. Be sure to stir constantly.


11. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest. Let the lemon filling cool while you beat the egg whites.


12. Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Whip on high speed until soft peaks form. While continuing to beat, gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.


13. Now pour the warm filling into your baked pie shell, and mound the meringue generously over the top of the filling, spooning it around so that it attaches to the crust all around the edges.


14. Bake for 10 minutes, until the top is a nice, light, golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.