Lemon Meringue Pie
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love lemon meringue pie! This recipe is a classic that should be in every cook’s repertoire. It’s not hard to make, but there are a few steps. I usually use a store bought crust for this pie to make it a little easier. It is phenomenal, I know you’ll love it!
Author: Ruth Guerri
Serves: 1 - 9"Pie
Ingredients
- 5 eggs, separated into whites and yolks
- 6 Tbs of cornstarch
- 1½ cups of sugar
- ⅛ tsp of salt
- 1½ cups of water
- 2 Tbs of butter
- ½ cup of fresh lemon juice (4-5 lemons)
- 2 tsp of fresh lemon zest
- 1 store bought pie crust
- ¼ tsp of cream of tartar
- dash of salt
- ½ cup of sugar
Instructions
- Start by pre-baking your piecrust. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If you have dough rather than a crust in a pie tin, roll it out on a floured surface a little larger than your 9 ” pie plate. Press it into the pie plate, trim the edges and crimp.
- Place a piece of foil over the dough and weight it down with dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and the beans, poke holes in the bottom with a fork and bake for 6 – 8 more minutes or until golden, cover with foil if it browns too quickly.
- In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg yolks and refrigerate the egg whites. In a saucepan, over medium/high heat, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Slowly pour in the water and bring to a boil, then let it boil for 1 minute, stirring, it will get very thick.
- Then add 1 cup of this hot mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly, then stir this mixture into the saucepan on the stove, cook for 3 minutes, stirring. This procedure is called “tempering”, otherwise you’d have scrambled eggs!
- Now, remove from the heat and stir in the butter, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir until combined and the butter is melted.
Pour into the pie crust and get ready to make meringue.
- Reduce your oven temperature to 350°. Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form, then slowly add in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon on the pie and spread to the edges to form a seal.
- Swirl the meringue with a knife and then stick the knife straight down and then up to form little peaks, these will brown while baking.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until the meringue peaks just start to brown. Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Caution, this pie is highly addictive!
